journey to a thousand sunsets
by suushisan
Summary: She is too old for her bones, too weary for this place. Edra lives once more, and it wasn't a mistake. (Whether she changes anything at all is really up to her). AU-ish. [SI-OC] Slow Burn. Kakashi/OC. HIATUS (READ A/N UPDATE: 8.27.18)
1. Chapter 1: A New Sky

**Disclaimer:** _ **Naruto**_ **belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

 **Author's note: Um, I've recently started writing again. Thought I'd give this a try.**

* * *

Reincarnation was an incredible thing.

It was also very selfish.

As a child, she dreamed she'd land herself back again on earth with her memories intact, to live in the knowledge that she could start over and do things the right way, and that pain would be secondary; joy would not.

But, like all things, it came at too high a price.

In hindsight, that should have been her first warning.

* * *

You live and you die. And for her, it was never in that order.

Edra was young, too young when she collided with death just moments before having pushed a little boy out of the way of incoming traffic.

 _No_ , she had cried before the agony ripped through her body violently. Pain exploded behind her eyes – a ricocheting sensation that rattled her bones and blew her sky high. Her body was thrown back onto the concrete with a sickening crunch. The crack of her bones jutted against bleeding skin resounded loudly as the screech of tires came to an abrupt stop.

The boy screamed. Her head was pounding and her thoughts – _no! no! no! no! —_ halted as the clap of death squeezed down her lungs. Quick, shallow breaths. Blown, wide eyes stare unseeing at the ordinary blue sky; blue like her mother's eyes, cloudless and calm.

But hers were a bleeding black.

( _she feels rough hands pry her from the asphalt, but all she could taste is the iron blood violently drowning her under a black-blue haze. Her raw throat an echo of her dying screams)._

* * *

When Edra wakes, it is to the familiar smell of her mother's baking filling underneath the cracks of her worn-down door.

It isn't morning yet –it's near dawn, and for once, the familiar scent brings her back to the present, instead of reminding her of the clawing nightmare that has plagued her since she first became aware.

She had lived through it more times than she could count. Death is a funny thing, she briefly lets the thought through. _But it isn't cruel_ , a voice whispers at the back of her mind.

Edra ( _her name isn't Edra here,_ she wants to remind herself, but doesn't) stifles a yawn, rubbing at her eye as she surveyed the room. The curtains were drawn only slightly with a bit of yellow-white lights sifting through in-between. Boxes of unpacked things were placed haphazardly to the side. A dresser was wedged between a vanity desk and the door of her small bathroom that had been left opened last night.

All in all, her room was small but not so much that she felt trapped. The apartment she lived in now with her mother was as small but still spacious, without a kitchen, however. They lived on top of their Bakery shop, using the facilities – like the kitchen and laundry room – that came with the building.

It's the only thing they could afford for now; with the bills, the loans, and not to mention the costs of buying fresh ingredients, Edra and her mother were lucky to have a place to sleep, eat, and shower _._

But life was good. The people loved sweets, and they absolutely adored her mother's recipes. That, Edra thinks idly, and because her mother refuses to cater to ninjas.

(Not all ninjas that pass through the bakery doors are dressed as such; some blend in surprisingly well in civilian clothes; others, at least those with quite a reputation _know_ they cannot pass unnoticed. They are the ones who know to stay away _)_.

* * *

"Stay away from them, Inori-chan. They bring nothing but death."

She didn't look up until her mother's hand was gripping her shoulder and turning her away from the window; she had been scanning the roof of the flower shop with a curious gleam in her eyes, having caught sight of figures parkouring freely in the wee hours of the morning.

Her mother's voice was tight with tension, but Edra could only register the fact that she could feel the slight and unnatural flares coming from the ninjas jumping on the rooftops as they moved away from her line of sight.

Her mother tugged at Edra's curls with a free hand while letting out an impatient sigh. "Do you hear me, Inori? Don't ever get near them, not even for a friendly chat. They are not your friends."

"Okay. I will not seek them out," agreed the little girl with an absent nod of her head.

A relieved smile replaced the frown on her mother's lips as she said in a pleased tone, "Good girl. Come away from the window now. It's time we start practicing your calligraphy. I have no idea where'd you pick up that horrendous habit of misplacing…" As her mother's voice drifted off in the background, Edra glanced behind her and briefly caught the sight of a blond head before turning away, letting herself get lead towards the backroom with an almost put upon expression flitting across her features.

Her mother really shouldn't be trying to pass on her prejudice attitudes down to her daughter. It is completely doing the opposite of stamping down her curiosity.

Edra, of course, won't approach, but who is to say they won't approach her first? And she had agreed she will not seek them out, not that she wouldn't talk to them.

* * *

 _Ninjas._ When Edra first woke up in a new life, with all her memories intact, she hadn't realized she stumbled into the world of _Naruto._ She knows she's in a time before the Fourth ascended, but not much else. Well, she knows there's talk of war, knows there are skirmishes along the borders of smaller nations, and the tensions between all five nations were at all-time high now more than ever.

So, before the third war. Possibly before the White Fang –Sakumo Hatake –becomes the catalyst. And isn't that just _great_?

She's _five and a half_. And tiny. And knew very well that her death only happened because she risked her life to save a little boy. Edra's too selfish _now_ ( _too scared_ ) to do it again.

Edra doesn't know how she will survive knowing it was all going to happen. _I'm a civilian,_ she reminds herself quietly. _I won't matter in the grand scheme of things anyway; so, why should I care?_

It was a new life, and she should learn to just go with the flow. Stay the civilian, keep away from the front-lines, and _do not give them a reason to notice you._

 _(If only it was that simple)._

Presently, however, since it was dawn and her mother was baking, she needed to get up before her mother decides to forcibly drag Edra downstairs, pajamas and all.

Shifting the blankets away from where they had pooled at the knees, she stretches and feels her jaw lock in place before swiftly sliding off the bed. It takes a while. Her body is tiny, half the sized she'd been when she first died, and with all the clumsy strides of a toddler barely passed five.

 _Five again,_ she grumbles as she dresses in a dark blue sweater (it once belonged to her older brother who died before she was born) and sweats. She forgoes the typical yukata; it was a Saturday, and her mother doesn't open the bakery until much later in the day, which meant she was free for the whole morning until the afternoon comes around.

It also meant freedom with what she wore.

Peeking out between the curtains, she eyed the closely-stacked rooftops of the buildings and then glanced between them, letting her eyes roam the empty streets. The stalls were closed. But she could briefly make out light behind shutters and windows. As dim as they were, Edra knows some have taken the opportunity to start the day before they opened their stores.

Her eyes find what they were looking for. _Yamanaka Flowers,_ family-owned and ran by the eldest son who was head of the clan. And already looked to be opening –though that won't be for some time—going by the suspiciously fair-haired couple ambling inside the shop behind the shutters.

She could see their shadows.

Surprisingly, her mother and his mother –Inoichi Yamanaka's mother, that is –were very good friends back in the day, and still were.

Edra wonders what made her mother hate ninjas, in general really, as she's never seen her mother direct any anger to anyone specific.

She shrugged. It doesn't matter. She doesn't care.

Two hours later, she's watching her mother knead the dough before Edra's sticks her fingers of her own and trying – _failing_ –to hide her disdain for it.

She's not a baker. Sweets are her favorite things, but the _mess_ is what gets to her. The flour gets everywhere. The chocolate gets eaten before she could temper it. And her mother always _never_ makes her favorite!

Okay. Maybe she's being childish about this. Edra curses her tiny frame, her stupid and wild emotions; just because she has the mind of an adult, didn't mean she wasn't at the mercy of her child body.

Everything was off balanced. Her strides were less confident. Her emotions were easily placed and displayed far too frequently on her face for it to be comfortable –being five and young was starting to get _old_ real fast, really quick.

"You're frowning again, love," came her mother's voice. There was a hint of laughter in her tone.

Edra paused and glanced up at her. Hunched over and with wisps of hair coming from free from their confines, her mother taps Edra's nose with a flour-covered finger.

"What frown?" she asked, forcing a wobbly smile on her lips. It's only just quivered under the strain of it. "Who's frowning now? Not me."

"Neh, Inori-chan, you are so cute. Are you getting tired?"

Edra scrunches her expression to look like she was becoming frustrated, and to her mother, it only made the little girl look adorable. "No," the little girl replied stubbornly.

Her mother scoffs playfully at her response, lifting her hands away from the dough in front of her to push a lock of silver hair behind her ear. "Go on and take a break. Take something to eat while you're at it. I know it's not your favorite way to pass the time, but maybe it'll do you some good," said her mother with a 'shooing' motion of her hand. "Just don't take the strawberries from the fridge –those are for the rice cakes I'm going to be making today."

She takes the girl's dough and settles it beside the other one while gesturing Edra towards the other side of the room with a pointed look.

"I don't like walking," protested the girl.

"It's not a long walk, Inori."

Edra pouted, and her mother simply smiled in amusement. The girl huffed and slid off the stool –slow and steady as to not fall.

She's half across the room when she's struck with a thought. _It's nearly time_. "Do I take the samples with me?"

"Samples, love?" Her mother asks, frowning confusingly at her.

"It's nearly seven-thirty, Okaa-san –and its Saturday. Don't we usually take samples down at the orphanage for the children?"

Every Saturday, she remembers. Her mother has always had a soft spot for children without parents, growing up as an orphan herself.

A frown pulls at the edge of her mother's lips. "I haven't finished the bread, Inori-chan. If you wait, I can—"

"I can do it," Edra cuts in quickly, ducking her head when her mother shoots her another frown—though it was more of a reflex at the idea of her going alone than any true anger. Backtracking, she adds slowly, "I mean, it isn't far. I won't get lost, I promise. And I've got a map!" She hated how high her voice sounded—so child-like. And very manipulative.

Her mother's expression shifts as she lets out a hum; she's not worried that her little girl's going to get lost because Inori's done it before. After all, her daughter was smart and acted very mature for a girl her age. Inori knows not to wander off—especially when its morning and there's hardly anyone out and about.

With another slow hum, her mother nods and agrees.

Edra quickly tugs at the handle of the fridge. Inside she finds two pink boxes that are stacked neatly on top of each other, with a pretty bow wrapping them together. The first box, the one on the bottom, was a bit bigger than the one on top. And thankfully, when she pulled the boxes in her arms, weren't heavy enough to topple her over as she elbowed the fridge door closed.

"Don't stay out too long -wait until I arrive, okay? And _do_ come back right after if I don't," her mother said firmly. "I don't want to hear or see another one of _those_ people coming to tell me you've snuck into their yard to pet their cats again. It's unbecoming."

Edra reddens at the memory of it.

* * *

She lifts up her hand again, intent on running her fingers down the cat's back when a voice spoke up from behind her, forcing her to freeze on the spot. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Reflexively, she cocks her head to the side and strains to feel their energy brimming beneath their skin –only to pick up on nothing –before inwardly shaking her head.

She slowly turns on the spot and nearly chokes on her words at the sight of a disapproving man facing her.

Brilliant, dark eyes stared back. She fumbles briefly for her voice, "Oh—um. I'm…trying to pet this cat?"

"You are in our compound, surely, you've realized this?"

Instantly, she tried to explain, "It ran in here! I followed it without thinking about it," she stammered, visibly deflating as the man narrows his eyes at her in mute disbelief. "In hindsight, that wasn't a very good idea, was it?" The last part was muttered underneath her breath, but she was sure he heard it too, going by the sudden tensing of his shoulders soon after.

The Uchiha –she winced when she realized why his appearance looked vaguely familiar –pursed his lips. "How did you even get past security? No, do not answer that. Come," he grabbed her by the shoulder, careful to keep his hold gentle, and steered her towards the gates, "I will escort you home myself. I do not tolerate trespassers."

Edra shouldn't have followed that damn cat. Why did she think it was a good idea to chase after it? She grumbled beneath her breath, cheeks flushed red with embarrassment as she was practically dragged home. Everyone was staring.

Her mother will never let her live this down. Never.

* * *

"That was one time," Edra grumbles under her breath as she pouted at the ground.

"What was that young lady?"

Edra hastily makes her way out the room, ignoring her mother's comment. She wasn't going to do that again. _Never,_ she whispered to herself fiercely.

( _she was a cat owner, through and through. And it got her in a lot of trouble sometimes)._

When she catches sight of a stray curl of a cat's tail briefly from the corner of her eyes – the same cat she had followed a week before–Edra nearly groans out loud at the unfairness of it all.

She stifled the urge to go after it, honestly debating with herself.

This…will take a while.

 _Fuck._

* * *

 **Honestly, this happened to me. I broke into my neighbor's yard just to pet a damn cat. I should not have done that lmao**

 **R & R**

 **Thank you for reading. I don't have a beta, so I'm might not catch all of my mistakes and what not. Constructive criticism is welcomed; flames are not.**

 **P.s.: My OC will** _ **not**_ **become a ninja. She's going to be a civilian, no matter what, but she won't be completely hopeless either.**


	2. Chapter 2: One Step Forward

**Disclaimer: I do not _own Naruto,_ just my OC(s). **

**Thank you for the faves/follows && reviews. **

* * *

Birds were more polite than cats.

They didn't bother flying down from their perch on the cable wires to bother her for food; they had more important things to do, like _chirp_ and flounce in place, instead of following her around looking for scraps of whatever leftovers she had from last night.

The cat was back. And it was strutting behind her, darting past startled children, weaving through the tickling crowds in an unwavering stride. The rise of chatter and laughter– normally a deterrent to easily frightened animals – didn't look like it was bothering the feline _one iota._

Edra kept her pace steady. She could feel the heavy gaze of the cat eyeing her with those uneven –and slightly distressing to look at – eyes that reminded her of the sky and earth that refused to blend. _Is it normal for cats - or animals really - to have sectoral heterochromia eyes?_ She doesn't know, and it wasn't like she could find out.

The Uchiha, the man who dragged her home, had been adamant that Edra stayed clear of the cats that lived on their lands –less she wanted to start trouble with the Clan.

She hadn't;t care to hear most of what was being said between her mother and the Uchiha, mostly because she was tired. Though, mentally older, it didn't help that physically she was a child; she could not outlast it in terms of energy.

And also didn't help that the cat took a sudden interest in her. Maybe she shouldn't have fed it that one time?

Maybe, it didn't matter. If she ignored the cat long enough, it'll probably get the hint and leave her alone.

At her easy pace, however, it was easy for the cat to shadow her. it was starting to garner the attention of curious bystanders.

She passes stalls and meanders through short alleyways, but still, she felt the subtle prickling of the cat's w _hatever_ at the back of her mind, following.

Edra shudders as the wind picked up. She raised the hoodie over her head with one hand, keeping her shaded from the sunlight that sprinkled through the forming clouds above.

It was still winter here in the village, but the snow has long since melted from the rooftops, and going by the winter clothes the villagers still wore, it'll be a long while before the temperature begins to rise.

She wasn't as snuggly clothed as she would have liked, but the cold never bothered her.

Adjusting the boxes closer to her chest, she almost didn't notice the tiny flare of chakra coming her way.

It was subtle. Controlled. And only ninjas felt that way to her.

Eyes sharpening, she scans the area before her; there were people everywhere now, gossiping and moving in crowds that it was hard to pinpoint the exact person she was looking for. When the chakra flared just minutely, Edra looked past a couple before landing her gaze on a familiar head of hair and face.

"Just my luck," she mutters under her breath. _Keep walking and keep your head down,_ she ordered silently to herself, while forcing her expression to remain passive, but expressive enough to avoid detection.

( _Oh, boy,_ do _ninjas notice when someone's jumpy._ _She had to remain calm and oblivious. Ninjas are a suspicious bunch, that much she knows_ ).

The market district blends both the civilian and shinobi side as to avoid increasing the gap between them; it was so that civilian would get comfortable with the sight of ninjas around them and vice versa. Because of that, Edra has grown used to ignoring the glint of Hitai-ate that would reflect from the foreheads of ninjas early one ( _at least from those who walked like normal people instead of parkouring on the rooftops, completely fascinating her to the point of almost reconsidering her path_ ).

It also makes it easier to identify them by their chakra -though not by much. She's not exactly a sensor, but if she trained herself at it, she'll probably be decent. She was aware of them, but couldn't really tell you who was who. But it was _enough_ to differentiate between ninjas and civilians.

Hence the look around she did before ignoring his presence altogether when she found _him_.

She didn't slow her strides, but her shoulder did tense when she spots the man a few feet away, just outside a dango shop. He was talking with a woman as they were walking, ( _civilian, going by the unrefined chakra Edra could easily pick out flowing inside_ ) and his laughter rang in the sharp air, voice carrying above the loud noises

It was too bad –no matter how much she wants to meet him –that she couldn't get close.

When she passes by him, it took all her willpower to ignore the odd feeling swimming uncomfortably in her gut. Was it nerves, maybe? Whatever it was, she didn't like it.

Edra continued on walking, and unbeknownst to her, the cat stopped following soon after.

( _Perhaps realizing it had to pass the silver-headed man who smelled strongly of a dog and decided it wasn't worth it)_.

* * *

It was easy to follow the roads that led to the outskirts of the village. She was extremely familiar with the area. (She had tagged along enough times to remember the path –and wasn't worried that it was only slightly deserted).

Not everyone –be it civilians or ninjas – walked down this path towards the orphanage. It was easier to take the less winding roads, the one with fewer trees and more fields as far as the eye can see. This path, however, was one she liked going on. It had lines of towering trees, the crisscrossing hedges that led to a frozen lake.

A lake which her mother had brought her to once a while ago. (T _he surface was thick enough that she could skate on its surface and not have it break beneath her feet_ ). It had been a favorite way to pass the time. Her mother would let her play for a while before they continued on to the orphanage, pleased and flushed from the exercise.

It was the only time she could be free and let go. Just her and her mother, and no one else.

The building came into view just a few minutes later, passing through hedge-gates. The orphanage had been built on a platform, it was oblong and painted dull with a fading blue color that was nearly two-stories high. It had looked new once, but not now.

Noises.

The whispers and the laughter of children reach her ears as she increases her pace. _New faces_ , she thought as she eyes them, walking past. A bit older than her by a year give or take. They didn't look…well. Something akin to hunger clings to their frames, but not enough for them to appear gaunt; they don't come her way, but they do notice the pink boxes in her arms with wide-eyed gazes before turning back to their games.

 _They must be so tired_ , she thinks. Even as they play, she could see their sluggish movements slowing down even more as the energy wanes from their bodies.

What is going on?

Her answer came in the form of Nonō Yakushi. An orphan herself, with pretty eyes framed by oval-shaped glasses and long, muted brown hair coming down to her shoulders. The girl was only six years older than her and had met her on Edra's first trip to the orphanage. Once, there had been an inkling feeling of familiarity forming at the back of her mind.

She hadn't been able to shake it since.

 _Who was this girl? Is she important?_ Edra shook free of the questions from her mind and decides that it was futile trying to recall where she had heard about this girl.

Nonō didn't have her usual smile plastered on her face, though, when she spotted the smaller girl. Instead, Edra could see the beginnings of a scowl as the girl made her way down the steps of the building.

"Inori-chan," the girl greeted, meeting Edra half-way. Her eyes flicker down toward the boxes in Edra's arms and something akin to hunger flashes behind them, though not as much as the children.

The girl was a shinobi, and the money she gains from missions must be curbing the hunger away. Unless…she was sharing her earnings with the orphanage and spread so thin that she, too, was going hungry.

Inwardly, she shook her head, letting her thoughts drift away.

Edra could feel her heart constrict. Without hesitation, she returns the greeting, careful to hide her unease. "Hello, Yakushi-san. Is the Matron here? I've got sweets!"

"She's with the toddlers," Nonō informs her, flashing her a dull smile. "Think you can wait a moment so I can go get her?"

At Edra's nod, the girl leads her inside the building, careful to keep the boxes steady in her arms as warm air suddenly brushes up against her cold cheeks. Clutter greets her as she follows Nono inside, inwardly frowning at the messy state of the living room. Usually, it was clean and free of it when people arrived, so why…?

"Please excuse the mess. With the sudden influx of children, we don't have enough time to clean up the rooms yet." Nonō doesn't change her expression, but she could _feel_ the sudden embarrassment emitting from the girl even if she didn't show it.

Edra places the boxes on an unoccupied table before sinking down on one of the couches, shooting the girl a small smile to put her at ease.

Still, Nonō didn't look as if she would relax anytime soon. Just before the girl made the move to leave, Edra spoke. "I saw more kids in the courtyard," Nonō shoulders tensed slightly at this, "is this a temporary thing?"

"They're orphans whose parents were either killed in the confusion or murdered," Nonō bluntly states. "We're housing them because they've got nowhere else to go. It isn't temporary."

Edra can feel herself shrink. At this, Nonō expression softens, and continues, "We get funding, Inori-chan, but it isn't enough to cover what we need."

"Oh," came her reply. She doesn't know what to say to that.

"Thank you for the sweets," Nonō offers in order to ease away the sudden tension, but the girl's heart wasn't in it, and it showed.

"My kaa-san's bringing more," Edra mutters, averting her gaze, "and she's bringing bread, too. The kind you like."

It wasn't the sweet kind either, it was the plain ones with sesame seeds in them. Her mother had taken a liking to Nonō and decided to always bring her at least the kind of bread she liked; it's been this way since Edra's been introduced to her.

Nonō hesitates as regret flashes behind her eyes. "Aa. That's…."

"Yakushi-san-,"

"Nonō."

"Nonō-san," Edra corrects herself, feeling braver. "I don't know if it'll help, but you can go to the Hokage, right? He's not going to let the kids starve."

Nonō releases a tired sigh. "I wish it were that easy. I've gone to see him but I keep getting turned away."

"That's not right."

"No, it isn't. But I'm just one genin – not important enough to be seen, I guess." Nonō lets a bitter smile replace the dull one on her lips before turning away, evidently done with the line of conversation. "Get comfortable. I don't know if the Matron will be able to see you right away—sorry about that."

Edra watches the girl leave with tired eyes. It wasn't fair that this was happening; she hadn't known it was getting bad out there.

It hadn't been half a minute later when Nonō comes back. Surprised, Edra straightens from her slouch, tilting her head in question. "The Matron's busy," the girl answered the unspoken question, expression pinching as she marches toward one of the couches.

"…Is something the matter?" Edra asks softly after a moment of silence.

"Shiori-san's father is your grandfather, isn't he?" The ask was so sudden that Edra couldn't help but shoot her a startled glance. Nonō's blank expression didn't waver as she stared back. "I don't mean to be so direct, but can you ask him if he could get me a meeting with the Hokage?"

Edra blinked. Then, hearing the question, she nearly pales before composing herself. _Why him?_ "He doesn't know I exist," Edra replies slowly.

"Not a fan of you, eh?" There was something awful in the way Nonō said that –almost as if she intended for it to sound as mean as Edra thought.

Edra swallowed down the urge to snap at her.

She knows Nonō isn't trying to hurt her deliberately; it's the stress of the situation that is getting to her.

Edra calms herself just as she says, "Kaa-san just keeps him away from me. She doesn't want me near him because he's a ninja –even if he is kind of retired," she adds quickly, feeling her fingers go clammy with sweat as Nonō continues to stare.

She doesn't even want to get near that old man. And her mother doesn't even bring it up whenever she goes to visit him every other week. When the little girl had found out who exactly was her grandfather, the only thing that she could feel at the moment was _fear_. Fear that a man like him could even have a family – _is that even allowed?_

( _She doesn't want to be taken; doesn't want to lose any part of herself if her grandfather decided she was valuable enough to recruit)._ If her mother thought to keep her away from him was a good idea, Edra wasn't going to even question it, let alone risk him knowing she existed.

"I didn't know Shiori-san didn't like ninjas."

"It's a new thing," Edra lies.

Nonō lets loose a frustrated sigh as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Please, Inori-chan. I don't know who else to turn to." She sounded weary as she slumps against the cushion, shoulders slack and visibly looking defeated at she looks at her sadly.

Edra was almost too afraid to speak. "I can teach you how to fight," Nonō offers, "if you do this for me?" _Is that even allowed?_

"Um, I don't know, Nonō-chan…" Edra trails off, feeling unsure. She doesn't want to be trained. _But what if you need to protect yourself?_ A voice whispers at the back of her mind; it did nothing to sooth the anxiety that was suddenly pooling in her gut.

Nonō presses on, unaware of the panic growing inside Edra. "I won't cost you a thing. Just…ask him for me, yeah?"

"He doesn't know about me," she repeats, her words sounding shaky to her.

"Does he really?"

"Kaa-san has reasons for it," Edra said as she averts her gaze.

Nonō didn't look convinced. "Are you…scared of him?" _How the hell-?_

"What. No," Edra replies quickly, eyes going wide.

But before the girl could reply, her mother announces her presence, making Edra sigh in relief before she caught sight of the expression Nonō wore; it was unreadable, but not enough for the little girl to not discern the thoughts behind that face. She was...angry, but resigned, and Edra very nearly agreed to her request.

But.

Edra ignored it. She didn't want to talk about it anymore.

* * *

Once, when she was younger and still so new to playing near the Yamanaka Flower shop, she caught a glimpse of an old, but not ancient, man strolling down the road(but not for her, no, his aimed had been her mother's bakery, but Edra didn't know that until he passed her without a second glance and slipped inside the shop where her mother greeted him with a faint ' _Hello, Tou-san', making it obvious as who he was to her_ ).

He wasn't unassuming, as some would think, but noticeable and formidable even after retiring from the force, and completely _familiar._

That was the day when the four-year-old Edra ( _Inori_ ) realized why her surname didn't match her mother's, why she wasn't _Higashi Inori_ but rather: _Shimura Inori._

She was Danzō Shimura's _granddaughter._

( _It hadn't matter, Edra's fear. The thought of introducing the two of them hadn't even crossed her mother's mind, and she soon forgot she even had a connection to_ that _man. Nothing was going to convince her to change that)._

* * *

 _Dammit_ , she curses inwardly, _what the hell am I going to do?_

Edra needed to know how to protect herself, but she doesn't want to be a ninja, nor even want to think about her grandfather. But, as she glances at Nonō, who was busy chatting away softly with Edra's mother, a heavy feeling settles in the pit of her stomach; maybe it's guilt or pity, or maybe it's fear. But she can't just ignore it -it isn't like her to do that.

( _How ironic, seeing as she was going to try to_ not _interfere with this world, and here she was, thinking of doing just that_ ).

it was decided then: she was going to have a chat with her...grandfather, even going as far as to ask her mother (beg, maybe) to meet him even if it made them (her mother and Edra herself) both uncomfortable.

Edra hopes it just ends well.

* * *

 **A/N: please Review! :) (I appreciate all the faves/follows!)**

 **I edited this a bit, (4/10/2017)**


	3. Chapter 3: Two Steps Back

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **Naruto**_ **just my OC(s).**

 **A/N thank you for the favs/follows!**

 **I thought I'd update this sooner rather than a week from now. Mostly, so I can buckle down and just finish writing the next chapter, because oooh boy, will it probably (probably) be longer than this one.**

 **Thank you again!**

* * *

"Be good. Make friends. Don't talk to strangers, and if you see anyone sniffing around you— _kill them_ ," her mother said flatly, then changes her mind as she adds slowly, "Okay, maybe not the last part, but you get the point, neh, Inori-chan?"

"I won't run. I have no legs for it," Edra reminds her mother.

"You _will_ , or your chance to pick what we get for dessert tonight will be _revoked,_ chibi-chan _._ " Her mother pins her with a stern look as she said it, earning a look of betrayal before her mother dumps her on the ground – gently.

She doesn't move from the spot. "I want an all-you-can-eat spread," Edra wheedles with a straight face. "I'll run then. But if I get nothing, you get nothing."

" _Brat,_ " her mother huffs at her before she ruffles her daughter's unruly locks until it looked like a bird's nest. Edra bats the hands away but doesn't stop the lone finger from bopping her nose sweetly.

Her mother checks the watch on her wrist before giving her one last final look. "It's Saturday. It won't be as busy as it will be tomorrow, so I've decided to give you a break. Just, please, don't come back dirty. Okay?"

"No promises," Edra said in a sing-song voice, spreading her fingers until she is swiping it up and down at the rough sand beneath her. She was staring up at her mother with rather large, innocent eyes while stifling the urge to let herself breakout into a large toothy grin as she did this.

Her mother simply sighed in exasperation. "This child," grumbles her mother. She lifts a hand and waves before turning on her heel, and with one last goodbye, walked away from the park, leaving a five-year-old child alone.

 _Thanks,_ came Edra's dry thought as she watched the retreating form of her mother fade into the crowds.

She stops her ministrations and pulls her fingers from the sand, then without preamble, feels herself visibly deflate as the thoughts of earlier come rushing back.

* * *

 _ **Earlier Today**_

* * *

"I apologize for being so forward, Higashi-san," Nonō said to her after Edra's mother has gone up to see the Matron herself, leaving them alone together. Her expression was earnest, but something darkens behind her eyes, making Edra nervous as to where this was going. "But will you at least consider the option?"

Edra fumbled briefly for words. One of the orphans, a girl, stumbles through the lines of enthusiastic children and made the move to reach inside. She was tiny, with long blond hair, and she barely reached the table; something cold pools in Edra's gut, uncomfortable and old. ( _She could remember being that tiny and unaware of something bigger than herself_ ).

Nonō –whose been doing to most work of handing the sweets out –leans over to and swiftly picks out a sweet bun from the box and hands it over.

The girl grins and leaves.

"Why can't you talk to kaa-san?" Edra asks after watching her for a moment. Nonō interacts with them so easily, which is a given seeing as the girl was an orphan herself and knew how to handle it.

"…I did," Nonō admits slowly; she sounded as if she didn't want Edra to know going by the uncomfortable look flashing across her face.

Edra could feel her heart race as she felt herself stiffen in surprise. "She did promise to do it, but nothing came of it," the girl continues, fixing her gaze firmly at the next child in line as she spoke softly, "and I'm starting to think that she was turned away, too. Or maybe she forgot? But if _you_ ask-,"

"You think the words of a child would sway a man like my grandfather?" Edra nearly regrets her words as Nonō nearly whipped her head around to stare at her shock; it took her all her willpower not to react before the other girl let it go.

Obviously, it'll be something Nonō will file away at the back of her mind for later examination, Edra can't help but guess if there weren't more pressing matters.

Nonō pursed her lips. "I don't know. Shiori-san hasn't brought it up once after I had asked; I don't know what to think. But I am _not_ losing hope. I _will_ be listened to." The apologetic look bled back to her features but the steel undercurrent of determination didn't stop from being seen from her expression entirely.

They both quieted. The backdrop of children's laughter washed over them as they worked. Shuffling feet, the sticky hands, the almost peaceful atmosphere in the air did little to soothe the overwhelming helplessness she was feeling at the moment.

She inhaled deeply and forged on.

"I'll try," Edra finally said after a moment.

Nonō immediately brightened, but she didn't turn to look at her again when she spoke. "If you like, after we're done here, I can start teaching you the basics?"

"Basics?"

"The simple stuff. You know how to read and write, right? We'll skip over that. I can start you on simple exercises to increase your stamina—I know a bit of hand-to-hand, so maybe I'll start on that first –no maybe…," Nonō voice trailed off as she started mumbling to herself while mechanically handing out sweets.

Edra strains to hear the girl as she watched her debate with herself, "…I can teach her basic medical stuff I've been learning and then work up to—no, no, she's not ready for that…"

The girl stared.

Nonō didn't stop talking.

She sighed. She shakes her hands loose from when she had clenched them during the entire conversation, feeling the sudden rush of blood leap free as static began to prickle beneath her skin.

( _Edra's selfish, she reminds herself, but…Inori isn't. Inori's a good girl, an empathetic, pacifist child with a good heart who likes helping others. For once, Edra could pretend to be exactly who Nonō thought she was. Maybe the guilt would go away if she did)._

In the end, though, Edra didn't get a brief introduction into what it'll be like to know how to fight. Nonō had a meeting later with her teammates and had apologized for it before leaving Edra and her mother to give out the rest of the sweets.

"Some other time then," Nonō had whispered as she walked past the little girl, careful to keep her voice low as to not be overheard, her hand brushing up against Edra's arm before leaving.

Edra closed her eyes, only briefly, while memories of another voice replay in her head before she relaxed and got to work.

( _Her sister had said the same thing before her death. Edra hadn't been the only one to die in her family. And it still hurts, even now_ ).

* * *

Edra's mind wandered, barely reacting to the children running around the park as she dug her fingers into the cool, scratchy sand. Her legs were sprawled open in front of her, while her other hand was raking through her long hair with a frustrated look on her face.

Her teeth bit down her lower lip as she started humming underneath her breath. Nerves tingled inside her skin. Panic sliced cold and hard down her back. She wanted nothing more than to shake the thundering fear from her bones.

( _I don't want to meet that man!_ )

She was sulking near the swing-set, her thoughts painfully tugging back to the memory of Nonō's plea of help, back and forth; had she been a _real_ child, she would have bawled, kicked and cried, or maybe simply forgotten it because it wouldn't have mattered, would it?

( _But she isn't a child. She's Edra, the girl reborn with the memories of life she can longer vividly remember)_.

It isn't like she didn't want to help Nonō or the orphans it's just that she doesn't know what to expect if she _does_ decide to turn to him. His mere presence frightened her, and it wasn't just because he was _ruthless_ , it was because at some point in his time ( _or maybe now)_ his actions had once been sanctioned –allowed by the Hokage no less.

That would send anyone screaming to the hills, knowing a man like him had once been allowed to take children.

A man like Danzō – power-hungry and all around douchebag –couldn't have sprung up from anywhere–he had to come from somewhere, right?

( _How many years did it take for that man to turn bitter, to think that the solution for peace would have to come from destruction and silent wars, from child soldiers, until nothing was left behind but the half-crazed man she'd seen on the screen just before his death?)_

She doesn't want to think about it anymore. It will only do her more harm than good.

Inhaling slowly, she dragged her gaze away from the ground until she was panning over the courtyard of the park, eyes hovering over the many heads of tiny people playing.

A rush of affection goes through her as an unconscious smile tugs at the corner of her lips. So, _innocent_ , she thinks with a sudden fondness.

She recognizes a few of them, but not enough to name them. Her mother doesn't take her to this side of the village often, mostly because it was little ways from where they lived. _That_ , and her mother, despite her fear that Edra might decide to become a ninja, she wasn't allowed to come here without the supervision of her mother.

This is the first time Edra's been allowed to be here alone.

Maple park, a blended section near the Hokage tower but further away from the academy itself, was bigger than the much smaller parks that dotted across the village; it had the added bonus of having big, looming close-canopy trees that faced the carved stone-faced mountains. ( _Only three, not yet complete_ ). If she could climb them without scrapping herself and embedding herself with splinters, she'd be able to see the entirety of Konoha proper.

High above, perched on thick branches, and with the occasional cold breeze. It would have been worth the pain.

It's a favorite playground for the Clan kids as well. Especially, prominent ones. Chances are if Edra was correct, their homes weren't located far from the park, which may be one of many reasons why it was as big as it was.

She wiped the remaining particles of sand from her palms on her pants before coming to a stand. Her hand settled on her stomach, remembering the rice cake she sneaked when her mother's back was turned and eaten on the way here, before inwardly shaking away her unease.

It wasn't hunger that stopped her for a second. Chakra, unbound, yet not as unrefined, was _brimming_ all around.

It was, thankfully, not pressing enough to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of Clan kids –and a couple of civvies –running around.

Edra was going to play with them. She wasn't going to deny the child-like part of her this. Besides, it had its own perks.

It isn't like this was the first time she ran around playing with them. They liked to play games like _Kick the Can_ , hardcore-style (i.e. Ninja), and wage mock-wars with sticks for kunai with each other until the other side surrendered or won, and it was, quite frankly, _awesome_. The imagined can be safely conducted and let loose, without the worry of reality bearing down on them.

 _And it was fun._

She quickly made her way towards a group of familiar faces. A Yamanaka –one she recognizes who sometimes helps around the shop—was lounging against a tree while she spoke animatedly to one of the boys beside her.

As she approached, she heard the tail end of Yamanaka Inami's conversation, "…It isn't going to start until Shiho-chan gets here, but knowing how lazy that girl can get, I bet she'll make us wait-!"

"Jeez, again, Inami? She'll get here when she gets here."

"She's a proctor," Inami griped. "I want that prize, Seiko-kun! You better go tell that cousin of yours to hurry up!"

The boy, an Akimichi, going by the red whirls on his cheeks, winced at her loud volume as he swiped the bag of chips away from her flailing arms. Seiko, a Nara by the looks of it, continued to look at her with a bored expression.

"Give it a rest," the one named Seiko said to the other brown-haired boy., "she's going to keep going on and on."

"So annoying," muttered the boy, looking distinctively uncomfortable.

Inami, having heard the comment, turned to give him a piece of her mind before spotting a familiar looking girl slowly making her way towards them.

Her long, unruly hair was billowing behind her as Inami recognized the familiar gleam in the girl's bright, brown eyes before she raised her hand and waved.

A smile instantly formed on her lips. "Inori-chan!" She greeted cheerfully, drawing the attention of the boys.

"Hello, Inami-san," Edra returned with her own smile.

She gestures to the boys. "Inori-chan, this is Seiko," she points at the boy to her left who was currently lying on his back before shifting her attention to the other, "and this is Chieko. And boys! This is Inori-chan, we work together, sometimes," she finishes with a bright, beaming grin.

"Nice to meet you," came the unison responses of all three.

Inami huffed. "What brings you here, Inori-chan? Hey, do you anything about the event today!"

"…What event?" She asked cautiously, ambling over so that she can sink to the ground across from them.

Chieko answered before the girl could. "Nara Shiho's dad is hosting a game today; it's a friendly game between all of us—sort of like playing Ninja but more…subtle and _intense_."

"Which she's late to I like to add!"

"No one asked you to," Seiko said in a flat tone. He didn't bother avoiding her kick, simply grunting at the impact it made with his shin before rolling over to the side. His face expressed boredom but he was looking intently at Edra, though, it didn't look like he was looking at her directly.

Edra crossed her legs and leaned forward, interest piqued. "Is it a group game? Can I play?"

"Don't know," Chieko told her.

"We _should_ already have this information, but nooo, your cousin's too lazy to show up, Seiko-kun!"

"How is that my fault?"

Inami clasped her hands together in front of her as she faced him, her eyes bright with undiluted rage that nearly sent Edra into fits of hysterical laughter. "I'm so glad you asked! Let me take out my notes-,"

"Shiho's always late," Cheiko informed her over Inami's screeching. "She's proctoring the event today – something that she's been looking forward to doing since she told us about the game." Then he sighed as he snacked. "We thought we would be playing right about now, but I guess not. And they say the prize is a good one if we win. Man, I hope it's an 'all you can' buffet…"

Inami reached over to bat away at his hands but misses. She scowls. "Quit eating and help me kill our friend."

"That's unlawful." He didn't bother to put his chips down.

"You would do it for one corn chip, Chieko-kun, without question."

Silence. Then.

"You're dead to me, Nara."

Seiko let loose a long-suffering sigh, and in a solemn tone, said: "I completely understand."

Edra couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

 **A/N: Review, please! Thanks for reading.**

 **Mentions:**

 **To Jiemae, for the beautiful and lengthy reviews, I want to say** _ **thank you**_ **. You have no idea how much your words made me squeal in happiness! And gah, just I don't know what to say but thank you very much! And btw lmao thanks for having so much faith in my writing (and thank you for offering your help, I'll def. think about it!)**

 **Ps. Also, birds are my favorite seconded only to cats. Like those outside birds LOVE to mess with people by deliberately being difficult. Like, I admire that. I can relate to being that petty lmao.**

 **It's like 'if I were bird' type of situation, yanno?**

 **To the other reviewers: twinbuster2, fluffpenguin (great name!), Evanelle, Riverrr, and guest, thank you so much! I am glad you're enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it.**

 **P.s. Kakashi's going to make an appearance in the next chapter, FYI!**


	4. Chapter 4: Above High Ground, Part One

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **Naruto**_ **, just my OC(s).**

 **A/N: thank you for the favs/follows + reviews!**

 **I hope I don't disappoint anyone with this chapter :)**

* * *

The air is brazen with the chill of the cold as Edra runs between trees, the quiet sounds of laughter following in her wake beneath the pounding of her feet. She runs. Deeper into the woods, with the burning and shameful realization that she was, once more, alone again.

In her arms, the scroll is blank and dull, uncaring to the racing thoughts flooding through her mind – _why did he do that-couldn't he just wait—_ as she held it tight to her chest.

Her partner was gone.

He had abandoned her the second he could, leaving Edra on her own.

She didn't know where he went, only that he could not leave ' _Rin-chan_ _alone with that bastard_ ' before demanding the rolled-up paper from her arms, a fiery determination burning in his dark eyes, until he left –deaf to all protests.

Edra didn't have time to call to him back, nor remind him that she was his _partner_ –that without them working together, they would not win this game.

He heard nothing. And she said nothing back.

Only stared blankly as he faded further from her line of sight. Minutes turned into longer minutes, and before she knew it, she was flying through the woods, away from the sounds of errant children reaching her ears.

Given the chance, they would steal her scroll, stamp her with the red 'X' ink that signified her disqualification on the back of her hand, and flee before she could so much as fight back.

The rules were quite specific in that.

 _This is a game_ , came her warring thoughts. ( _It's only a game, just a game, a meaningless game, a game meant for fun—a game-_ ).

Edra was slow to anger sometimes, but frustration lends itself quickly, even if she didn't mean for it to happen.

So, she flees the opposite direction, blindingly aware that she was going the wrong way, hoping to double back before time could run out.

She didn't want to lose.

 _Damn that Uchiha! Why couldn't he just listen!?_

* * *

 **/ Earlier /**

* * *

Yamanaka Inami was a pretty girl with an oval-face and round rosy cheeks, vibrant blue eyes, and plaited, platinum blonde hair that was wound up in a loose bun on top of her head. She wore her family's clan symbol around her neck on a necklace that peaked through from her pink buttoned down blouse; only one set of black studs adorn her ears, yet not a genin however.

They weren't the same age, but that didn't stop Inami form befriending Edra anyway.

Edra met the girl when they were younger, a year ago almost, and even if they hardly see each other –Inami goes to the academy during the week and rarely sees the younger girl unless until the weekends come around–they still took the time to greet each other every other day, and if possible, hang out when they could.

She never met Chieko and Seiko before. Mostly, she thinks, because the opportunity never arose. The park was too big for all of them to have cross paths; she stuck to the swing-set, or sometimes, when she's feeling mischievous, up on a tree until the day ends and her mother –to her exasperation—would have to help her climb down.

Despite it being Saturday, she didn't get a lot of opportunities to hang out with Inami.

This was probably the only time Edra caught sight of Inami with the whole group present.

( _Ino-Shika-Cho, but not quite. Their names were slightly different for one thing_ ).

Edra tends to stay away from larger groups, their chakra being the cause for it most of the time. Too many people –especially kids that go to the Academy –in one place tends to quickly overwhelm her, even if she could, _barely_ , ignore it enough to not let fog her mind.

But. There's game that's coming, and she _wants to play_.

Chieko, with his red swirls stamped on his round cheeks, was as likeable as Inami; he had hair of fairer coloring than that of a typical Akimichi, more reddish than brown but not quite red, and his short hair had a slight curl to it at the ends, but there was no mistaking what Clan he belonged to.

He reminded her, too, by his slightly shy demeanor, of someone Edra had lost before she had been born; she'd seen pictures, of course, but Chieko's warm, chocolate brown eyes were different from the dull brown shade of her older brother's.

S _outa,_ her mind whispers, _is gone; let it not be your burden. (Mama didn't tell you so that you can remember for her and of the pain from his absent._ A pain that isn't hers –she didn't know him at all – _but to know she once had a brother)._

Seiko, she noticed, was as much a Nara as any future Nara she would know; his spiky dark hair, despite not being held up, was short and clipped around his ears; his eyes were a piercing black gaze, which he was currently looking at her with, not quite scrutinizing but enough to be covered up by his curiosity.

"How did you guys meet?" Chieko asked the girls, a curious lithe in his tone. Seiko had gone back to his cloud-watching, but he was listening in, while Inami made a noise of excitement as she leaned forward.

"I met Inami-chan when I accidently followed a stray cat right into her family's shop. I am glad that I did." Edra could remember it, and the fondness must have been blatant in her voice because Chieko looked pleased at her words just as Inami nodded while giggling.

"She was so cute! My uncle nearly had a heart attack when a strange little girl came barreling into his shop, shrieking at a cat. He's a shinobi, and he didn't even _see_ her coming," Inami exclaimed, waving her arms around to emphasis her words.

Edra wasn't embarrassed. In fact, she found amusement at her own antics. She was a child, of course, she was going to act like one. "I wasn't… _that_ disruptive, was I?" She asked sheepishly.

The blonde girl nods rapidly in amusement. "You nearly broke three of our shelves."

She vaguely remembers doing that, _almost._

"Did you get in trouble?" Chieko tilted his head at her in questioning.

"Inochi-san was very understanding," Edra said offhandedly.

Seiko snorts. He adds, "That doesn't surprise me at all."

"Her mama nearly cussed out my Uncle when she heard the commotion. It was really funny," Inami declared, all with a wide smile and laughter from her.

Edra laughed, too. "My kaa-san is very protective."

"I joined Inori-chan with the chase," Inami told the two boys, cheerfully. "My Uncle was really amused with the whole thing, letting us run around the shop and whatever."

"We became friends after that," Edra finishes with a wide grin.

"How come we never met you?" It's Seiko who asks this question.

Inami pouted. "It's her fault, mostly," she jabbed a finger at Edra's direction playfully as she frowns, "She keeps to herself most of time, since she doesn't go to the academy or civilian school, or rarely leave her mama's shop."

Edra blinked at her, while Seiko turned his head to face her. "You're, what, six?"

"Seiko-kun, she's five," Inami growls, almost protectively.

If he's surprised, he doesn't show it, instead, muses, "I thought you'd be one of us, given your friendship with Inami." He gave a lazy wave at their direction, a lone eye sweeping over her until he settles it once more at the sky.

"One of what?" Edra narrowed her eyes at him.

"A shinobi in the making," Seiko clarifies; he didn't look at her. "You still have time to decide if you want to be one. Usually, at six, you could enroll, or you can choose to wait until seven to get into the civilian school with the option to switch over before your first-year ends."

Edra raised a brow; she didn't know that. "How long before that option is closed to you?"

Seiko hummed. "We learn differently. Civvies aren't taught hand-to-hand or basic chakra exercises, like we are. It'd be hard, but not difficult enough that you can't catch up if you switch."

He didn't seem to notice her growing nervousness.

Edra bit the inside of her cheek, while she fiddled with her fingers. She didn't see Inami's glance zeroing in on them, nor saw her dart her gaze up to look at Edra with barely concealed concern flashing across her face.

Seiko went silent soon after, until Chieko spoke up.

" _Do_ you want to be shinobi, Inori-chan," Chieko asked, when it looked like Seiko wasn't going to continue.

The other girl, Inami, on the other hand, was also too busy staring hard at the former, gaze narrowed.

She inhaled slowly, while squaring her shoulders. "No," Edra said firmly. She exhaled, stilling the movement of her fingers as Chieko, stumped, blinked at her clear surprise.

"Why?"

"No reason," she shrugged.

Chieko's brows furrowed in confusion but he didn't say anything else.

The sound of clapping drew their attention as Inami proclaimed, "I think we should start heading over to the other side of the park!"

"For what?"

Her grin widened as she clamped her hand around his ankle, hard, going by his small grunt of pain. "Because I just realized that you, Seiko-kun, are an idiot! Why didn't you tell me she meant _East!?_ "

"…We were facing her…"

"She meant _East_ ," the exclaimed in unison before Inami digs her nails into his flesh, causing Seiko to flail helplessly as she repeated her action.

Chieko and Edra just look on, the former amused and horrified, while the latter, confused and a little intimidated.

 _Honestly, what the hell?_

* * *

Nara Shiho wasn't anyone remarkable enough to be memorable, Edra thought as she trekked behind the group, eyes darting at each direction before returning to the front; the teenager, probably fifteen or younger, was leading a line of kids straight into the forest, her arms full of scrolls while the chatter of excited children filled the air.

After the whole realization, Inami immediately dragged them where they needed to be.

It was when they saw a couple of other familiar-looking kids going the same direction that Edra realized this event was bigger than she thought.

It hadn't taken long to march alongside them as they spotted a woman that Chieko had declared to be 'Nara Shiho', before Seiko slouched further and muttered a, 'bah,' that worried Inami and only made Edra perk up in interest, even as they watched the clearing behind them fade the deeper they went in.

 _Does he not like his cousin?_ But Seiko didn't look as if he was up for conversation, so she didn't bother him with that question.

Edra was a little nervous, however, and it wasn't because of the game.

She could feel the dozens of chakra signatures, mute, but still brushing up uncomfortable against her own, and wonders if her fidgeting was noticeable. _How do people stand it?_ It felt like she was being surrounded so closely that she couldn't even move an inch without it swallowing up whatever space she created.

It was disconcerting as much as it was annoying.

She wanted to duck out of the game and leave, but Edra didn't want to do that, not yet.

Her eyes darted up at the sky, to the branches and leaves, a stray breeze brushing up against her cheek until she lets loose a sigh.

The group in front of them stopped. Edra felt a miniscule flare of chakra from somewhere above her sink into the branch, muting, but before she could glance up to look for the source, Nara Shiho's voice was sweeping across them, drawing her attention.

"Alright, brats, listen up! I'm only going to say this once and only _once_ , so _shut up_." The noises instantly die down as a couple of kids shifted wearily on the spot. Pleased, Shiho smirk widens as she continued, "The game is simple. To win, you and your appointed partner _must_ arrive at the clearing at exactly 6pm sharp with a scroll assigned to you both. The catch is: there'll be saboteurs of my own choosing amongst you; evade them long enough, without your scroll being taken, and without getting stamped with a red 'X', then you're one step closer to winning!"

It was four o' clock. They had two hours.

Murmurs broke out from the crowd, but she silenced them once more with a stern look. "If you get caught and stamped, you become a saboteur. You're job as a backstabber is to hunt down the ones with the scrolls. The more you stamp, the more of chance you get to win. Under no circumstances are you allowed to open the scrolls, if you're a sab, got it?!

"Remember, outlast the enemies until six, and you and your partner wins! Sabs can win anytime if they have a lot of victims, but they have to _prove_ they marked people. How to do that? Figure it out yourself, kiddies," laughed Shiho, sounding harsh and without a humor.

Edra shuffled back when Inami bounced in place, her flailing arms nearly hitting in her on the arm. She and her friends were near the back, which is a good thing, but made it harder to see Shiho-san clearly, though her voice carried loud enough.

"Split, and line up," Shiho barks. "And face each other."

They did as they asked. Two long line of kids on the opposite side of each other; Shiho walked down between the line, tossing something red to the kids she thought looked shifty enough to be saboteurs, while giving the odd numbers of kids a scroll, stopping to bark a command of:

"Those with the red marker, scatter! Only attack when I give the signal!"

Immediately, half of the group ran, leaving only those with scrolls and some without behind.

Shiho hadn't given them a scroll or a red marker, still in the middle. Inami looked wary, Chieko concerned, and Seiko was looking relieved for some odd reason.

When the group thinned, leaving behind fewer kids, Edra was startled to realize she could _recognize some of them_.

She wanted to hide. "Alright those with a scroll, get up here!"

Edra could list off those who gotten one easily; but she didn't want to, not even in her own head.

"Hey, I recognize some of them," Inami whispered to them.

"Where's-," She didn't hear Seiko's words because something—

The same chakra signature flared from somewhere above but a few feet away from her.

Edra shivered as she ignored the sudden descent before a silhouette of a kid flashes in front of them, landing smoothly near another kid with the familiar orange goggles resting—

"Ugh, it's him," Inami huffed as her nose wrinkled in distaste. She was glaring hard at the kid who just appeared.

Chieko mumbles, "Let it go, Inami-chan."

"Please, don't let him be a sab," she chanted to herself, then turned to Chieko, a scowl on her face. "We're not that lucky, Chieko-kun, are we?"

Chieko simply patted her on the shoulder in sympathy.

Edra glanced at Seiko for answers. "He's younger than us and already miles ahead. Inami doesn't like him," Seiko told her.

When she opened her mouth to ask why, a shout was heard, " _goddamnit, stop following me, bastard!"_ before his next cry of, " _Ow, Rin-chan!_ " came right after, causing a couple of birds to scatter towards the sky.

"Wow. Still an idiot," Inami muttered beneath her breath while glaring at no one.

Edra snapped her mouth closed, confusion whirling inside her before she saw Shiho hand a scroll to the silver-headed boy and gestured towards the girl with rectangular purple markings on either side of her cheeks—it wasn't hard to deduce that Shiho just made them partners, going by the loud protests coming from the boy with the orange goggles.

Edra could feel a headache coming.

"Jeez, kid," Shiho was heard saying, "you're too loud! Stop complaining!" Turning to the other two, she snaps, "Well? Get on with it. Scatter!"

The silver-headed boy simply stared up at her blankly before he walked away, the girl trailing behind him after saying goodbye to the pouting kid, and then disappearing into the woods.

"Sab," Inami was heard muttering, but she was, again, ignored by the other two as Edra struggled to stop the frown from appearing on her face at the remark.

It sounded derogatory. It made her extremely uncomfortable.

A few minutes later, after partnering up everyone else, Shiho is seen making her way towards them, with the boy, the one with the orange goggles, trailing behind her with a frustrated look crossing his face.

Then Shiho made her way over to them after ordering the boy to stay where he was.

"You made it," Shiho remarked, glaring down at Seiko.

"Give clearer instructions, hag."

"Ask for them next time, lazy-bum."

"When you stop being a sadistic female, I'll-," Inami smacks him upside the head, rightfully infuriated by his words while Shiho laughs without humor.

Seiko glares, but stops talking. "Who's this?" Shiho was looking at Edra, critical eyes assessing her.

"Not important. Give us a scroll," Seiko cuts in.

Hurt flashed briefly behind her eyes, but Edra shoved the feeling away.

"Inori." Edra grimaced.

"No last name?"

"Is it needed?" Again, Seiko cuts in, sounding completely annoyed.

Inami raised her fist again, but Shiho scoffs, causing the girl to pause half-way as she waved Inami down from her act. "You civilian, brat?" It didn't sound nice coming from her mouth. It sounded…. almost rude.

"Hurry up," yelled the boy behind Shiho, looking as displeased as Seiko, but he was silenced by the harsh glare tossed his way by Inami, which only made Edra more irritable.

 _Can I talk?!_

Edra opened her mouth to reply, but Seiko interrupts _again_ , "You have two scrolls. Just hand them out already!"

"Seiko-kun…," Both the faces of Inami and Chieko pale, while the latter stepped closer to him as Shiho growled.

Instead of responding, Shiho tosses Seiko a red marker, expression no longer amused. "Get the hell out of my sight, sab." She shoves a scroll at Chieko, but as Seiko glared –hurt and angry –and stalked away, the Akimichi boy quickly grabbed Inami and followed right after him.

Edra could only watch as they disappeared. _S_ he doesn't know what happened, or what made Seiko so angry so suddenly.

Were they on bad terms? Did Shiho attitude cross a line?

She struggled to understand. She was still shocked that they would just _leave_ her, especially Inami, but even if she was slightly hurt, she couldn't fault them for leaving together.

Edra will only be in the way. They're probably comforting Seiko, and maybe didn't want her to see. Or something. She doesn't know.

Still didn't stop her from feeling hurt.

"Here, civvie," Shiho called as she offered the last scroll to her. Edra took it as Shiho pulled the boy from behind her by the collar and pushed him to her side. "There's your partner. Scatter, outlast the enemy, and don't get _marked_." There was no emotion in her voice; it was flat and monotone, as if she no longer had it in her to fight.

When the woman made a hand-sign, Edra paled as the chakra inside her burned so bright that the moment Shiho flickered out of existence, sparks of firecrackers shot up towards the sky in a fury explosion.

 _Bang! Bang!_

The boy lets out a strangled scream as Edra slapped her hands over her ears to muffle the noise as her heart thundered fast inside her.

She could hear nothing but the noises until they faded.

"…That was so cool," came the boy's impressed voice as he stared at the fading colors in awe.

"No," Edra clenched her jaw, "that was fucking _scary_."

The boy scoffed. "Whatever." Then, glancing at her, he suddenly paused. "You don't look familiar. Who are you?"

"Your new partner," she replied irritably.

He stared at her. "Higashi Inori," she relented.

"Uchiha Obito."

"Nice to meet you," she said, after a long moment of silence.

Obito lets loose a frustrated sigh. "Argh. I don't have time for this! I need to go look for-,"

"Excuse me? You aren't leaving!"

"Give me the scroll, I can find my own way-,"

Edra stepped back, glaring fiercely at him. "Listen, pleb, I'm not about to hand this over. We're partners."

"W _hat did you call me!?"_

She ignored his screeching. "We need to move. Remembered what she said? That was the signal! Chances are the Saboteurs are hiding in wait. I was thinking of climbing the trees? Listen—"

He didn't bother to listen.

Obito shot her the ugliest look she's ever seen someone make before he declared in a loud voice, "I'm not leaving _Rin-chan_ alone with that bastard! He'll probably leave her to get marked! He doesn't like working with anyone!"

Edra felt a rush of fear go through her. His c _hakra_ —

Obito turned on his heel and ran towards the direction he had last seen them head, leaving her behind, stock-still and frozen.

Then the laughter came.

Edra ran.

* * *

/ **Now** /

* * *

Edra stumbled into a clearing, legs going numb as she staggered to a stop near the base of a tree.

She planted her palm firmly against the bark, heaving as she sucked a lungful of air before straightening a moment later.

Scroll stuffed down her sweater, she patted it briefly with her hand; it was secure—barely—, she thought, but otherwise it was in no danger of falling out. Briefly scanning around, she pursed her lips and with a long-suffering sigh, sat down. Dammit _, where am I?_

The sun was nowhere as high as it was earlier. How long had she been running? _This stupid park is too big; who designed this place!?_

She groaned inwardly, smacking her forehead with her palms. "Why didn't I go after him!?" W _hy did I get so scared?_

His chakra wasn't…it wasn't warm, Edra remembered as she flashed back to before, it was like _lava_. Burning so bright and hot and searing that it nearly forced her to her knees. Had it been directed at her, she would have blacked out on the spot.

Who the hell was Obito?

She won't presume to know him, so she's not going to waste time on asking herself what so different this time around. Because he is real, and he's not going to be the same person he was portrayed on screen, and she _won't_ make that mistake of underestimating him.

Edra shuddered. He didn't scare her. Obito was a cute kid with pretty dark eyes and soft-looking hair; he was loud and quick to anger when she observed him, that, and he doesn't _listen_ well.

And that is all she knows.

 _Keep moving_ , a voice whispers at the back of her mind. Edra got to her feet, shakily, and started walking towards the other direction. Not behind her, but to her left –maybe she'll backtrack the long way around?

Without a partner, and with her friends nowhere in sight, she wasn't going to win.

"Kids are so mean," she grumbled under her breath, stomping around in a circle. "Why are they rude to me?! Dismissing me like that! Why can't he acknowledge me-," She paused abruptly, half-frozen, before she groaned out loud. "Nooo, what am I saying?! I sound like a—"

"Do you normally talk to yourself like a crazy person?"

She froze. Whipping around, she tried to find the source of the voice, only to see no one. "…Ghost-san?"

"…You're as bad as the dead-last," came the boy's voice, full of disbelief.

Edra choked. "Excuse me?!" She didn't know where the voice was coming from.

Her eyes started darting around, hair slapping against her face as she twirled until she stopped.

 _He's…up in a tree_ , came the amused laughter of her own voice at the back of her mind.

She glanced up and immediately saw him. "Took you long enough," he said blandly as he beckoned her forward with a jerky flick of his wrist, crouching.

To his right on the branch next to him, stood the same girl her partner had been looking for, _Rin-chan_. She was shifting nervously on the spot, eyes darting to the ground and back while she gripped at the tree as she blanched.

"Get up here," the boy grunts, sounding grumpy. "They won't climb the trees."

"I-it's okay," Rin, the girl, says gently, "they don't think to look up. You'll be safe up here."

Edra growled inwardly at the stupidity of her partner. _See?_ She wanted to yell at Obito, _look at them being smart about it and working together!_

But she didn't because she didn't want to look crazy in front of them. They were being nice. Pausing, she narrowed her eyes at the them. "Show me your scroll," she commanded in a sharp voice.

"We're not sabs," the boy returned equally.

Rin shifted slightly and then she took a scroll from behind her where she had placed it in her back pocket. "Nohara Rin," the girl introduced herself as she did so, before pointing to the boy, "and this Hatake Kakashi." She sounded sweet, if a bit winded. "Will you come up?"

It looked legit, Edra thought, even though she couldn't really tell. "Higashi Inori," Edra tossed out before shrugging in agreement.

She raced towards the tree, arms open. Edra knew how to climb, but she didn't need to do anything dramatic because—

A hand shot down and immediately closed around hers. Startled, Edra felt the brief flash of his warm chakra before Kakashi's strong grip began to pull her up.

 _Safe_ , she thought with bewilderment, _he feels safe._

And a shiver ran up her spine.

* * *

 **A/N: Review please!**

 **Ahh, I decided to split this chapter in half lmao it got too long? (mostly because I want to stick to a schedule).**

 **Btw: if anyone is confused about how the game is played…. let me know because I just wrote it on a whim and I'm bound to make mistakes. I hope it was clear enough? Idk, what do you guys think.**

 **Mentions:**

 **Chipmunk: …. don't call me out lmao I forgot about the** _ **henge**_ **….omg**

 **Sirirachacha: thank you so much for you review! Stick around to find out lmao**

 **Lady Syndra: Yes, yes, you make excellent points. Edra's a bit bias, though, so she's going to have to learn that there's more than one side to a story. (I'll keep this in mind!) And thank you for the review!**

 **Fluffpenguin (so cute): great points, and yes to the rest, I will keep them in mind! Thank you for your review, it helps me a lot!**

 **Riverrr: thank you so much! Ah, I would love any reviews. It doesn't have to be long! I like how your mind works! Stick around and find out lol but she won't meet Danzo, at least not soon. Lol.**

 **Jiemae: thank you! Most of the interaction between them are semi based on my own relationship with my mom lmao. And the bit about the connection between Yamanaka and Edra, well…..I have plans, so you're not wrong. (Ino Yamanaka is my fave! And her clan absolutely fascinates me) and again thank you!**

 **Ishdirections: thank you so much! And I love your profile pic!? (cats, cats, cats, cats!)**


	5. Chapter 5: Above High Ground, Part Two

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **Naruto,**_ **just my OC(s).**

 **A/N: sorry for the delay, I had to take a break from this for a while so that I can finish my other projects. I would have uploaded it sooner, but the ending of this chapter wasn't finished lmao**

 **Thanks for the favs/follow ++ reviews!**

* * *

Her welcome came with no replies, but the two made sure she was securely placed on the thick branches and hidden behind the tree's trunk before Kakashi released his hold on her hand, his gaze firmly scanning the area where she had just been.

The laughter she heard from before had subsided and gone the other way; loud as they were, she thought, they did manage to track her through the forest, even if she had tried to keep quiet when she ran.

They hadn't thought to look up, just as they two had said, while Edra and Rin shared an incredulous glance when the sabs had bursts through just minutes after she was lifted onto the branch, and had walked away the moment they couldn't find the ' _the girl with the scroll_ '.

It was all anticlimactic, she thought with an amused intake of air. She was glad for their help, even relieved that two seemingly strangers would help her out. Why did they help her anyway?

"We have to stick to together," Rin said after she had voiced the question, looking earnestly at the boy before smiling wide at her.

Edra returned it but dimmed it when she remembered her partner. "My…partner left me all alone."

"On purpose?"

"He went looking for someone," Edra replied.

Kakashi cocked his head to listen, but didn't turn his face away from the ground. "That isn't very nice," Rin frowned, clutching close to the tree.

Edra shrugged and shook her head. "It's okay. I'll find him eventually, at the end, and I'll probably have to resort to biting when I see him."

Rin looked at her with wide eyes. "I'm only kidding," Edra muttered, laughing a little. If it sounded nervous, the girl didn't acknowledge it.

"…I'll help you?" Rin offered, although it sounded like a question rather than a statement.

"Sure, Rin-san."

They smiled at each other; Rin's soft and warm, while Edra's nervous and grateful. It was sort of weird smiling so much, Edra thought, when she never used to do that in another lifetime, at least not a lot, just rarely, and really awkwardly, too.

"We need to keep moving." Kakashi straightened from his position and jerked his chin at the tree behind them, adding, "We're staying high above ground to keep away from the enemy's lines of sight."

"We have to jump." She hoped they didn't have to.

"Yes." _No, why!?_

Edra stared at him, anxiety pooling in her gut. "It's okay," Rin assured her gently, "we'll help you keep up."

She hoped she didn't more nervous than she felt.

Edra sucked in a lungful of air, hoping to calm herself down from the sudden rush of dizziness. It's been a while since she had anything to eat; she was getting _thirsty_.

"Jump," Kakashi tells Rin, gesturing at the tree.

Rin nods and with one last pat on the girl's shoulder, leaps from her and sails across.

Edra could only watch with wide eyes as the girl's chakra sings before Rin lands, somewhat wobbly, on the tree branch in front of them when they had turned to face it, palms planted firmly on the trunk as she turned around to stare at them, smiling encouragingly.

"See, it's easy."

Kakashi readies himself to leap, then pauses. He looks back and, to her surprise, extends his hand towards her, appearing bored, but she could see him falter a little. "Grab on and don't let go."

She nods shakily, pats her scroll more securely inside her sweater, before grabbing his offered hand, feeling herself thrum with awkward energy as his warm chakra flickers a bit before he jumps off, taking her with him without another thought.

Sailing, she has enough time to gasp before in the next moment, they land on the branch next to Rin, his chakra muting once more as her hair flies around her face, obscuring her view.

When his hand made the move to slip free from her grasp, Edra involuntarily clutches it harder. "That was so cool," Edra was saying, choked surprise as her heart raced, adrenaline rushing through her in equal measures before shaking her head as she felt Kakashi's gentle shake of his hand still within her own.

She lets go of him and brushes her hair away from her face, pouting. Rin giggles at her and says, "It's okay, you'll get used to it."

"You make it look so easy."

"Inori-san, you don't have a fear of heights, do you?"

"Nope," Edra insists, even though she was a little terrified form being so high up on a tree. She's okay when she's not moving, but having to _jump_ – that's a whole different story. This is why she can't be a ninja; it involved moving too fast, too high, too much.

It was exciting, sure, but not enough for Edra to reconsider her path.

Kakashi offers her a hand again and the cycle continues.

They do this a few times until Edra could feel herself relaxing at the ease of which they jumped, face bearing a wide grin as she leapt through the trees, wind biting her cheeks, spikes of adrenaline thrumming beneath her skin, and the fluctuating rise and fall of their chakra each time they jumped.

It was a nice change from all the others; they didn't slow, but they didn't go fast, and she kept herself from making too loud a noise whenever they did this. It didn't seem to bother them though, she could even feel Kakashi radiating amusement, even if he didn't show it while Rin would often laugh softly or join her in her struggles to keep quiet.

When they made the move to jump again, three familiar faces appear below, making them pause. Edra stifles the gasp as she lets go of Kakashi's hand, and makes the move to call out to them.

Kakashi pulls her back, voice low as he mutters, "Do not engage. They have been marked."

She stills, uncertainty radiating through her. Edra wanted to go say 'hi' and ask if any of them were okay, but she wasn't going to risk it.

"Kakashi-kun is right," Rin adds ruefully, sounding apologetic as the girl peeked over them, eyes darting straight to their red inked hands.

Rin shoots a sympathetic smile as she confirmed it with a curt nod; Edra deflates and doesn't try to call out to them.

The trio, Seiko, Inami, Cheiko, were momentarily distracted until the first boy suddenly froze.

Confused, Edra leaned forward, keeping sure to stay out of their lines of sight, or even make the slightest of noise, before Seiko scratches his head in annoyance.

He looked like he was looking for someone, was Edra's thought.

Besides her, Rin murmured, "Isn't that Nara Seiko, the sensor?" And as an afterthought, adds, "He's two years above us in school. Really smart, too."

 _What? A sensor?!_ Edra looked at her in startled surprise, not quite sure if she heard right.

"He's not skilled enough to detect us," Kakashi said offhandedly, confirming the girl's word, and only making Edra blink rapidly down at Seiko. He sounded like he was unconcerned by the situation but that still didn't stop him from narrowing his eyes.

They watch them a few minutes before the group eventually departs from sight.

 _I have so many questions_ , she thinks, but nothing concrete—or pressing enough to be asked. Nothing had indicated Seiko was a sensor, but then again, she only just met him.

Kakashi catches her attention by tugging her shoulder and away from the trunk. "Rin knows how to jump without falling, but not you. Take my hand again."

As Rin crosses to the other side, Kakashi and Edra follows. Air rushes past her, billowing out her hair as her heart raced in excitement again.

They land swiftly on the branch. Edra felt his chakra flare beneath his feet before flickering out.

 _He already knows how to channel his chakra to the soles of his feet and stick himself?_ Edra is impressed. For such a young kid, he's surprisingly good at it. _Genius or prodigy?_ She forgot which one he is, but she inwardly filed it away; she'll return to that train of thought later when they're _not_ on the move.

When Rin pauses in her next jump, Kakashi straightens and zeroes in on her sudden hesitation.

"What do you see?" He asks, not bothering to let go of Edra's hand.

"I see Obito," Rin replies softly.

Kakashi instantly slips his hand away to slide besides Rin, head turned until he sees what she's looking at.

She can't see where she's at, so she moves and narrows in on the exhausted-looking Uchiha lurking below the trees.

"He's marked," Kakashi notes, eying the angry red 'X' inked on the back of the boy's hand.

Edra cranes her to look. "Oh, that's my partner."

They both stiffen in surprise, then turn to look at her. Rin looks curious, Kakashi blank. "He left me to go find you, Rin-san," Edra tells her, offhandedly.

"That wasn't very nice of him," Rin frowned.

"He was worried."

Kakashi cuts in, sounding distinctively annoyed. "Tch. Figures."

Edra swallows down her surprise at that. When she looked at Rin, the girl was still frowning but determination suddenly blooms behind her eyes as she says, "I'm going to go down there and give him a piece of my mind!"

"We should keep moving," suggests Kakashi, but he sounded like he didn't want to even get involved with Obito, but it was hard to tell because he didn't move.

Edra makes the move to follow, but something catches her attention, and when she stops to stare down, the other two pause, twin expression of curiosity.

Obito has a bundle of red markers shoved haphazardly into one of his breast pocket, when Edra points it out, Kakashi's brows shoot up in surprise, eyes widening before disbelief rings his next words, "That idiot was able to take them from the sabs?"

Rin gapes at Kakashi, but Edra glances down at Obito. "Smart. That way he could win the game anytime, right?"

"How did he even manage that?" Kakashi mutters to no one.

Rin grins and laughs prettily, but she keeps her voice low as she says, "He must have been really motivated enough to beat you."

Kakashi glares but relents as he gave an approving stare, suitably impressed.

"Then I'm out, aren't I?" Edra wrinkles her nose in distaste.

"He isn't marked," Kakashi points out.

Edra doesn't have the time to ask him to clarify because Rin speaks up. "Inori-san, you can stay with us," and gives her a soft smile.

"Care to explain? We saw the mark on his skin," Edra asks Kakashi, after nodding her thanks at the other girl.

"It isn't real."

Rin expression slacks with shock as Edra cocks a head to the side, confusion whirling around her head. What did he mean by that?

"Kakashi-kun?"

The boy didn't appear to have heard Rin's call of his name as he was too busy staring holes at the back of Obito's head just before said boy started to walk away.

"Call him," Kakashi tells Rin, tone mild.

Edra makes a noise of amusement.

"Obito," Rin shouts.

Said boy whips his head around, startled, but his features lit up in hope as he found her the moment he looked up.

Rin waves. Obito grins. "Rin-chan!" Then, as he spots Kakashi, starts frowning.

Kakashi stares back, expression blank. "You," Obito yells, "what the hell are you doing here!?"

"Don't be an idiot. Think."

"What did you call me, _Kakashi-teme_?!"

Before they could work themselves up, Edra cuts in with a sharp, "Oh, heya partner! Glad you can join us!"

Obito lets loose a strangled scream then he's suddenly glaring accusingly at her. "Are you working with the enemy now?!"

 _Honestly? This child._ She kept her expression pleasantly blank, not giving in to the urge to hiss like a cat at him.

"You left me, Uchiha-san," Edra huffs, ignoring his words.

The boy stops shouting. Sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck with his palm, Obito mutters, "Meh. I'm sorry."

Kakashi is not impressed. Rin cuts in before a fight can break out, placing a hand on his shoulder before her eyes darted to Edra', silently asking her to intervene.

She obliges.

"Are you marked, Uchiha-san?"

"No." His chakra flares a little and something _gives_. "I faked it. See, _henge_!" The 'X' disappeared from the back of his hand as he waved it around cheerfully.

"Why did you take their markers?"

Obito started complaining, "They tried to mark me! Even after I told them I didn't have a stinkin' scroll, they still came after me! So, I ran—," Kakashi snorts, but Obito ignores him for once, "—and I came back to extract my revenge and ambushed them! I thought I'd do the same to the others."

When Kakashi stared at him, Obito snaps, "That Nara lady didn't say we _couldn't_ do that." Then he jabs a finger at Edra's direction. "If I couldn't find you, then I would become a sab, take someone's scroll, and win. But you're here, so I don't have to do that!"

"Are you going to leave me again?"

"…No," Obito muttered guiltily, looking away.

"Then let's work together," Edra suggests, glancing at the other two.

Rin nods, while Kakashi shrugs.

Obito whoops in delight and runs headlong into the tree before he starts climbing. _Poor tree_ , Edra thought sympathetically, as Obito almost violently climbed up, grinning all the while before shoving himself between Rin and Kakashi, nearly knocking into her.

The tree shook dangerously as Edra dug her fingers into the bark. "Obito, don't move so much," Rin chastises him.

"Sorry, sorry!"

"We need to keep moving," Kakashi says.

"Duh—ow, Rin-chan!"

Rin pulls her hand away and huffs. "And you need to stay quiet, Obito. We don't want the others to know about our location."

"Sorry," grumbles the boy, before brightening.

Edra sighed. "Can we go?"

Kakashi extends his hand out, turns to Obito and commands, "Grab her hand. She doesn't know how to jump without risking a fall."

For once, Obito does as he is told. He did shoot her a look of confusion, though.

They both held her hand tightly; it was kind of awkward, she thought, flushing a little.

They started working together, each of her hand enclosed in both of theirs as they leaped across the branches, following Rin at a distance, her long hair occasionally obscuring her view as they did so. _I should cut it,_ she thought, before inwardly shrugging that idea away.

She liked it long.

Before she could contemplate other things, Rin suddenly stops in front of them. Obito skids, nearly wrenching her away from Kakashi before the latter thought to release her before he could be ram into them, hard. Edra grunts and avoids a headlong fall to the side when Obito steadies her by the shoulder.

"What?" Kakashi sounded peeved.

"The group from earlier," Rin says, sounding a little sorry for stopping so abruptly as she points ahead of her. "They're here, and I think they heard us."

Sure enough, it was Cheiko, Inami, and Seiko, and they were currently glancing above them, attention drawn towards the trees from the sudden noises they had made when they stopped.

Seiko is the first to speak. "What the hell?" Then, when his gaze lands on Edra, surprise flits across his face, "Inori-san? Is that you?"

Edra nods. Inami and Chieko, having heard the name, glance up at her in shock—and guilt? They looked away, suddenly shamefaced.

Kakashi crouches, and to Edra, does a good job in emitting a mysterious aura. Inami scowls up at him, and asks, "What are you doing here, Hatake?"

He doesn't answer. Seiko asks Edra, "Are you okay up there, Inori?"

"I should be asking you," Edra says with concern leaking in her tone. "What happened back there?"

She was also a bit taken-back at the sudden forwardness of Seiko; it wasn't unwelcomed, just a little odd.

Said boy looks away, biting his lower lip. Chieko is by his side when Inami says, "We're sorry for leaving you. Seiko-kun needed us, and I didn't think—I'm sorry, Inori-chan."

"They left you, too," Obito states suddenly, looking distinctly guilty— _did he forget that he was there when that happened_? –as Rin pursed her lips while Kakashi glanced briefly at Edra, brows furrowed together.

Edra shrugged but was insanely relieved. "I accept your apology."

There's a ghost of a smile on Seiko's lips before he says, "We're marked, but I don't have my marker. Uchiha-san ambushed us and took it. He ran before we had the chance to take it back, so we followed."

Obito smirks in triumph. Inami glares but doesn't say anything.

"Want to team up?" Chieko asks, speaking up for the first time.

Obito shakes his head rapidly. "We're already on a team!" He turns to look at the others, hoping they would agree. On Kakashi's face, he looked thoughtful but gave a minuscule nod towards him, and she could see him smirking beneath his mask.

Edra and Rin share a look before shaking their heads as well.

They group below accept it with grace, nodding. "Can I have my marker back?" Seiko asks, holding out his hand expectantly.

"Whatever," Obito says, but before he could toss it, Kakashi reaches out and stops him, his hand clamping around the boy's wrist as it hovered mid-air.

They stared at each other. "Keep it," Kakashi told him sharply. "You'll need it if you want to win."

"Why are you helping me?" Obito asks him in a quiet voice, sounding hesitant and wary.

"…No reason." The grip on his wrist tightens for a second before Kakashi releases him.

Edra couldn't help but smile. Sounding annoyed, Seiko growls, "Really, Hatake?"

"Sorry. Better luck next time, Nara!" Obito crowed,

She chuckled at the shock looks on their faces.

Cheiko turns to Seiko. "Do…we fight them for it?" Inami starts to square up, looking for all the world ready to brawl while Seiko suddenly shakes his head, stopping them both a raised hand.

"Inori-san doesn't have experience, but there's no doubt she'll help them if we start fighting. No," he muses thoughtfully, half smirking up at her, "we better not."

The group leaves, giving one last to wave to her, before disappearing. "Really?" Edra laughs.

"Smart move," Kakashi snorts.

Obito grins and adds, "Nah, he was probably too scared to fight me!"

"As if, dead-last."

"Why you—!"

Ignoring the bickering, Rin waved her forward, lips pulling in a fond smile as she watched Obito before whispering, "They're so cute, neh, Inori-san?"

Edra could only nod in response.

* * *

Ten minutes' pass and she doesn't know if she could keep going.

Her muscles were screaming at her to stop, but she didn't want to be the reason they lingered too long in one place. Rin was in the same state as her, but she looked better and less likely to slow down anytime soon, _lucky her_.

It was nearing six, but they couldn't stop. They had been circling the area for a good long while, making sure to keep clear away from being obvious that they were doing it, but not straying too far that they wouldn't be able to make it on time.

It was a good strategy, if a bit boring. Jumping and feeling the vibrations of each drop shooting up her legs only made her groan quietly to herself while feeling the scroll inside her sweater slide some little ways down; they weren't as loud as she would have thought they would be, but it didn't stop from bird scattering to the sky every time they landed on every other tree branch.

Kakashi took pains in making sure they didn't disturb any more birds.

The air was getting colder as the sky began to darken some more. Little light barely flitted through the close-canopy, but it wasn't all bad. It wasn't dark, but it wasn't bright either. The sharp, scents of the forest would often clash with the smell of others—usually helpful to Kakashi, but not to her.

She only knew because he would occasionally point them out before signaling them to stop moving before continuing after they're gone.

Hidden below, even from the distance, Kakashi, with his keen eyes, spotted a couple of sabs hiding in bushes, though they looked as if they were fighting amongst each other. When asked, Obito explained that he took their markers too and were probably looking for him, but he doesn't know how well he covered his tracks, going by their obvious pointing to the ground and their disgruntled hiss of his name.

He should be smug that he caused so much ruckus for stealing them, but Obito looked almost sorry for making it harder for them to quietly sprint across another tree without alerting them of the group's presence, but he was still proud.

A couple of times, they caught glimpses of Seiko and his group, but always out of their lines of sight. They were circling the area too, Kakashi had noted, but Seiko was making sure to keep them out of the way of others, which was smart, the boy continued, and then went silent after Seiko and his group were out of sight once more.

Edra was just starting to sag under the weight of exhaustion.

Her eyes were starting to droop, her shoulders and neck ached, while her grip wouldn't be as tight whenever they grab hold of her to jump. She didn't have to look at Rin to notice her similar, even if she had more stamina than Edra; Obito still had enough energy to keep going, and Kakashi looked about the same as he, more or less, but she couldn't tell.

She wonders how he has the strength to pull her across. He hadn't even falter once, nor indicated that he was starting to look annoyed by having to do it.

Edra thinks he must have slightly, excellent chakra control since he uses the minimal to stretch him hard enough to keep flinging himself across branches and still stick as firmly as he had in the beginning.

At the moment, Obito and Kakashi took turns in leading Edra from tree to tree, keeping sure she didn't wobble once. Rin would often be in front of them all, leading but keeping watch behind her in case Kakashi signals her to move a certain direction, but other than that, she was surprisingly good at switching paths without being told to.

She was impressed by their teamwork.

Edra felt a little hopeless, but she can't really blame herself for not being trained as well as they had been at school.

They stopped when Rin started to slow. "Are you okay, Rin-chan?" Obito was heard saying, quietly making his way to her side as Edra slightly swayed.

"...Yes, I'm okay. Just getting a little tired."

"Twenty more minutes," Kakashi supplies helpfully, glancing up at the sky.

Obito bobbed his head, a wide grin on his face. "We're almost there, Rin-chan!" She returned his smile, though she was too tired to keep it long enough for him to see it.

Edra inhaled slowly, but she couldn't stand still. She swayed, a haze of dizziness suddenly overcoming her before her world shifted sideways.

" _Inori-san!_ "

Everything happened all at once.

She pitches to the side, the cold rush of air suddenly whipping past her as she fell. Kakashi, the silver-headed blob appearing in the line of her sight, dives, but misses when he shoots a hand to catch her, expression slack with shock.

Obito, loud and frantic, lets out a strangled scream before he is suddenly throwing himself in her direction, his chakra pumping so brightly that she nearly winced at his loudness.

She heard Rin gasp.

Edra doesn't hit the ground point black, instead, she's yanked by the arm and spun as Obito moves behind her, arms locking across her chest to keep her from hitting it directly; he was to take the pain for himself, and she nearly choked from sudden nausea that arrived when they impacted.

When they hit the ground, Obito cried out in pain, and the shock of it thunders through her bones as pain shoots up her legs before he sags beneath her. He had cushioned her fall, but she didn't come out unscathed and going by his sudden limpness, he hadn't either.

" _Obito, Inori!"_

Vaguely, she could make out Kakashi silhouette dropping beside them as Rin follows suit, runs until she drops to her knees to hover over them.

" _Ow,"_ she heard Obito's pained moan. Edra, who was breathing too shallowly, slowly rolled to the side, body shaking.

Kakashi presses his hand—

" _Kakashi-kun, behind you!"_

A sab springs from the bushes, expression contorted with gleeful triumph as Kakashi instantly spins to a stand, shoulder stiffened as he locked himself in position in front of them – she didn't see him, but she saw the kick land clean on the sabs shoulder, sending the sab clear back across and back where they came from.

Rin, who dragged Obito away, went to lift Edra from the ground before another sab exploded out from a bush behind her.

She didn't have time to help her.

Rin immediately blocked a kick and screamed, "Inori-san, please go to Obito!"

Her muscles screamed in protest, but she _moved._

She stopped when she saw a scroll lying beside her—she patted her chest in confusion, then realized. It _was Rin's scroll. W_ ithout thinking, she yanks the rolled-up paper down inside her sweater and staggers to a stand, sucking in a lungful of air as she makes her way towards an unconscious Obito, who twitched in his knocked-out state.

The noises coming from behind her didn't deter her; Edra couldn't help them, and Rin hadn't asked her to. Kakashi was already helping Rin with the other sab, almost bored with it while the sab looked frustratingly frightened as he was pushed back further from where Edra and Obito where currently located.

She drops besides Obito, hands frantically fussing over his body until she lets loose a relieved, but shaky sigh as she realized his spine hadn't snapped when he hit the ground hard.

Ninjas, even the ones in the making, were made of sturdier stuff, it seems.

Obito groans, snapping his open. "Whaa….?" His expression distorting, pain lining his face as Edra patted his cheek, while worry and relief flashed behind her eyes. He was okay, even if he looked like he just took a beating.

"Where's…?"

Edra points, instead of answering.

She didn't have time to recoil back in surprise when Obito suddenly sprung from where he had been laying and instantly barreled over to them; she watched him go with wide eyes, seeing him running unsteadily into the fray made her want to suddenly join, but they had the training to defend themselves alright, so she didn't.

Edra wasn't a fighter. Besides, she thinks with a tinge of relief, it ended as soon as it began anyway.

Kakashi knocked one sab out, while Rin flung the other to Obito, who with a shout of glee, knocked him right into a tree, the resounding echo of flesh hitting against the trunk was loud, until he fell in a heap on the ground out cold.

"…That was really violent, Obito," Rin suddenly said, looking at him with wide-eyes. She was panting slightly but didn't look as tired as Edra would have thought. She looked…energized?

"Kakashi-teme knocked that guy out with an uppercut to the jaw, though?!"

"I didn't make him hit a tree," Kakashi countered.

When he made the move to turn on him, suddenly wobbled in place. "Gah," Obito yelps, before sinking to his knees, groaning as another bout of pain shot through him.

Rin was immediately at his side, fussing over him. Edra, who couldn't move anymore, felt herself slide to the floor, energy sapped and violently tired.

To her surprise, Kakashi made his way towards her, gaze filled with concern as he ducked down to lift her from the ground.

"Too heavy," she slurred.

"You weigh nothing," came his response.

She leaned into his side, suddenly realizing that he was taller than her. How old is he?! "Six," said Kakashi, although he sounded adorably confused at her question. _Shit, did she say that out loud_?

"Thank you," she mutters.

Kakashi makes a noise of acknowledgment but doesn't respond.

This time, however, because he hadn't thought to tightened his grip on her, when she sagged and slipped away, Kakashi's sharp, "Wait, hold on-," fell on deaf ears as her world went black.

* * *

Somewhere, in the distance, in three quick successions, a ribbon of colors explodes across the sky. Yellow, the color caution. _Slow down_. But not quite red.

* * *

Edra comes to, muscle aching everywhere. She blinks when silver locks swim in her line of sight, the edging blackness of her vision receding as his blurry silhouette came into view.

Kakashi had been looming over her, hand hovering near her face before withdrawing.

Rin, to Edra's surprise, is loudly lecturing one of the sabs that tried to take them down while Obito, to her even bigger surprise, was sitting on top of them, glaring but also grinning so wide it looked as if it hurts as he dug his knees harder.

 _That violent child._

"Rin-chan is so cool," Edra exclaims, causing Kakashi to make a noise of agreement, to the surprise of the girl before he offered her a hand.

Then, turning to him, said, "How long was I out?"

"Five minutes," he huffed.

"Felt like a lifetime."

Kakashi blinks at her, pulls her up, and steadies her by the shoulders, making sure to keep his grip on her tight but loose enough.

She smiles at him, thankful.

Rin finishes her reprimand with a sharp, "Now go say sorry to her!"

Obito slides off and stays tensed by Rin's side. The sab gets up, shakily, and mutters a quick apology to Edra before running off, taking the other boy, who had been starting hopelessly at them while she lectured the other boy, with him.

"Where's the other boy?" Edra asks, after waving the sab off, noticing the lack of enemy's littering the ground. What they hell, weren't there more? She slapped her cheek, trying to keep focus.

She can't remember.

Kakashi says, "They ran off. The game's over."

"We lost," Obito informs her.

Edra deflates, then tosses the scroll to Rin, who rolls her eyes while huffing at the boys. "We're five minutes away from the clearing." Then, adds offhandedly, "It was a warning flare, by the way." To which caused Kakashi to smirk as it takes a while for it to sink in.

Obito eyes widen when he realized. "Let's _go!"_

The two of them chuckle while Kakashi snorted.

Edra groans and turns to Kakashi, "Carry me?"

Kakashi inclines his head towards her in a 'yes', surprising her. "Wait, are you serious?" Her words held a tinge of incredulous as she stared at him open-mouth.

"You're not going to make it by walking."

"Wow, really? I know I'm not heavy, but aren't you tired—"

Kakashi crouches and gestures towards his with a lazy wave. "Get on."

She heard Obito's quiet snicker while Rin sighed softly at their direction. Edra shrugs and leaps at him, a burst of childish energy before she hits his back with a gleeful noise. Kakashi grunts and straightens, staggered before steadying himself as he places his hands under her knees, keeping her locked against him.

Edra squeals into his ear, "You're so sweet, Kaka-chan."

He twitches at the nickname.

Obito outright laughs while Rin chokes in surprise.

* * *

They make it to the clearing on time. Nara Shiho is there, waiting as she sends one last flare to the sky, this time the ribbon colors were red.

She was too tired to care for the fluctuating chakra, too unmoved by the matching singing of chakra beneath her—because Edra was _exhausted._

Shiho spots them. "Well, well, well, isn't this interesting."

No one else stumbles into the clearing.

Obito is the first to move, shuffling forward until he's shoving a bundle of red marker towards the woman. She takes them with a shocked look on her face, "How…?"

Rin and Edra, who was gently placed on the ground, revealed their scrolls.

Shiho stares at them. "Well, I'll be damned."

"Did we win?!"

Shiho hums as she narrowed her gaze at them thoughtfully. "Well!?" Obito was bouncing on his feet, jittering and too excitable for her tastes.

"Those brats probably opened their scrolls," Shiho sighed when no else bothered to show. They're confused when she says this. "Scrolls opened, disqualifies you. They probably thought the rules didn't apply to them, given that it was a rule for the sabs. It did. I thought they would pick up on that. What a waste. I could understand them not appearing, but the others…?"

Edra could feel her eyes burning.

She was exhausted, her shoulders were drooping once more as she struggled to keep her eyes open long enough to stop everything from blurring together.

"…I took their markers," Obito was saying, "they didn't want to play anymore because I wouldn't give it back." He excluded the group with the Nara, remembering that they were around even after he had taken their marker away, and the ones who had attacked them earlier.

Though, it looked like they didn't want to play, given that they're aren't here either.

Shiho, with a skeptical look, asks, "All of them?"

"Only ten," Obito said, counting off. "I got them from above. They didn't stand a chance," he added with a definite smirk on his face.

"How did you know to take their markers?" Shiho stared.

"They wouldn't come willingly if I had marked them," Obito said, surprising Kakashi and Rin, but only made Edra grin because _damn, he could be smart when he wanted to_ , "So, I took them the markers and told them to leave. Some didn't, but eh." He briefly glances at Edra before turning back to Shiho, "They're sabs, but that didn't stop me from backstabbing them when I pretended to be one. And Higashi-san's my partner, so technically, I _did_ follow the rules of the game."

Silence.

Kakashi starts laughing. It was as if it had forced out of him, sharp and abrupt, but as easy as he shook with disbelief. Obito nearly dropped the red markers in shock, while Rin gaped openly, and Edra felt his chakra hum as she stared.

"...I'll be damned," Shiho muttered.

"Did we win?" Obito looked innocent as he said those words, staring up at the woman with large, dark eyes.

Before she could respond, Edra felt three chakra signature burst through the clear. Chieko, Seiko and Inami stumbled through, looking a bit lost until they zeroed in on the other people.

Inami waves at Edra, but sticks to her group. Seiko glumly strides forward while Chieko glances between all of them, confused.

"Scrolls?"

Chieko waves it around. Inami giggles nervously and says, "We're…Seiko-kun's prisoners?"

Shiho stares at all of them. "You're late. Sorry, kiddos, looks like you guys lost."

They looked resigned, but not without a hint of outrage flashing across their faces. Shiho points at the other four, surprising Edra and the others: "They beat my game. They looked underneath the underneath and used that to their advantage. They won."

Edra flushes with pleased warmth as Obito whoops in delight. Rin simply smiles, and Kakashi looked almost…proud?

 _What does she mean looked underneath the underneath?_ But she didn't ask; she didn't feel like talking right now.

Maybe, she'll ask later…?

Seiko and his group congratulates them.

Shiho looks to Obito. "Next time, don't bully the others out of the game, but you made good use of your training, so I can't really fault you for that," said the woman with a genuine grin on her lips as Obito basks in her praise, and everything about him _changes_.

His chakra its _—warmer now, less volatile, more_ alive. Besides Edra, Kakashi stares at Obito, eyes widening a bit as something unreadable flashes behind his eyes.

Rin takes the first step and wraps her arms around his, eyes gleaming proudly as Obito blushes hot red.

Kakashi briefly looks at Edra, who shoots him a kind smile. He tilts his head, and something akin to relief flashes across his face as he, seemingly, returns the look. Well, she couldn't really tell, but his mask was thin enough for her to see his features and to know that's what he's trying to do.

Shiho clears her throat. "The scrolls."

Edra and Rin pass over the rolled-up papers over to her. "What do we win?" Rin asks the woman.

"A lesson in the shinobi arts," Shiho says, grins when Obito, Rin, and Kakashi look eagerly up at her, while Edra fidgeted nervously. "That's for some other time, so for now, this-," She makes a hand sign and instantly, the scrolls merge together in a puff of wicked smoke.

Shiho then unsealed the scroll, revealing four small stones. "These are special sealed stones," She begins, piquing their interest, "made and created by one Namikaze Minato—though, these are just prototypes at the moment. It's made to specifically unseal the moment you pour a little chakra in it, but it doesn't stop there. The stones have a purpose and it's supposed to help you control your chakra—which I will explain at a later date. It stores in any excess; it changes color, too, which acts as a message of intent, and you four will be the first to be allowed to see if it works."

She looked at their confused little faces and grinned. "Why is that? These stones are one of a kind because they're made to become for one person. It means that the moment you unseal them, they are yours, and will only work for you."

"…That sounds a _wesome?_ " Obito didn't look certain about that, but Rin was.

Behind her, Edra could feel Seiko, Inami, and Chieko's climbing curiosity. "I thought it'd be a fitting prize, seeing as this game was designed for the purpose of finding people to test these stones out. Congratulations, you four are going to test these sweet babies out to see if we could implement these in our forces!"

"D _id_ you know the four of us would win?" Kakashi asks.

"Nah. This game was meant to weed out the weak. I had eyes _everywhere_." Then she hands –more like gives it to Rin— a slip of paper, riddled with some explanations on what she had just said.

Edra couldn't help but feel very, extremely _, nervous_ when she heard that.

The woman beamed and held out the stones. " _Don't_ activate them now, do it somewhere else that isn't out in the open. But do it together," she adds quickly, as she handed them each a stone. "Bye!"

Shiho turns to Seiko, who cringes, and shouts, "Oi, cousin-mine! See you at home!" Before vanishing in the next second.

Edra stared at the stone in her hand, small and weightless, and would have been opal-white all around had it not been for the writing inked along the rounded edges.

Before she could do anything, Seiko and his group bounds over.

Inami immediately hugs Edra, apologizes once more in her ears before letting her go, while Seiko echoes it behind them as Chieko nods in agreement.

Edra glanced quickly at the other but saw that they were too busy staring at the stones to notice them before turning back to greet them in kind.

"I understand," Edra says when they apologized again, "Seiko was hurt. In fact, thank you for being there for him. I know I don't know you guys very well, but I'm not going to get angry over something done from instinct."

Inami beamed up at her. Chieko offers her the kindest of smiles. "My cousin and I aren't on good terms, but she tries," Seiko offers, looking away. "It's me who doesn't want to."

"She was goading you."

"I started it."

Edra stares. "True, but…"

"I'm…sorry for dismissing you back there," Seiko cleared his throat, "when I said your name wasn't important to be announced, I mean."

"He didn't mean to drag you into the argument," Inami added in a high-pitched voice, that Edra realized indicated the girl was extremely nervous.

"Seiko is hotheaded," Chieko adds as well.

"He's smart, but not smart enough to stay level-headed." Inami huffs.

Seiko stares at the both. "Thank you for that," he said dryly. They both beam at him.

Edra laughs.

They say goodbye to each other, promises to hang out, before they departed.

Edra turns to look at the others, who by now, were talking amongst each other. "Sorry to keep you guys waiting," said Edra as soon as she gives them her full attention.

Rin glanced at Obito, then jerked her chin at Edra. Obito slumped his shoulders, but nodded, looking defeated.

Edra cocked her head at them in confusion, then looks at Kakashi for answers. He simply shrugged, as Obito turned to her. "I'm sorry I left you. I didn't know it made you scared."

Startled, she looked at him. "What."

"I saw your face before I turned away," Obito said in a somber tone, "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You…noticed?"

"Yeah and—I abandoned you! How could I do that!?"

Edra blinked, then couldn't but giggle. "It was a game, and you were worried about your friend, Obito-san."

Obito stopped. Then stares. Edra couldn't help but reddened. "What?"

"You said my name."

"It's a good name."

He turns red and glances away as Rin beams up at them.

Kakashi speaks up. "Are you two done?"

"We're bonding," Edra says, making grabbing hands at him but he jerked away before she could catch him. "Don't you want to bond with me, too?"

" _No_." He sounded unsure, but also very sure. Edra giggled at his conflicting expression before it settled to an indifference that didn't look as if he meant it.

Then, they sober up.

Edra bites the inside of her cheek, tells them she doesn't know how to mold and channel her chakra into the stone. "It's easy," Rin starts to say, then stops. "Wait, you're not-,"

"She's a civvie," Obito spoke.

Kakashi glances at her, but he isn't surprised, it's as if he knew all along even if he had been guessing at the time.

"Well," Rin says, "the simplest way to start is to find your chakra first. It usually takes meditation, but I don't think we'll have time for that." She turns to Kakashi, looking a bit lost as she asked tentatively, 'Kakashi-kun, any suggestions?"

"You're a natural sensor, it should come easy."

Silence.

"What."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her. "I noticed you twitching every time I jumped across the trees—I had been using my chakra to do it, overwhelming Rin's. You're not very good at hiding it."

"How does that make it easy?"

"You know what my chakra feels like. It shouldn't be hard to feel your own."

"She's a civvie," Obito repeated, not unkindly. "She hasn't had the basic training with channeling chakra the same way we did at the academy."

"Sensors are naturals," Kakashi said. "They only need to develop their skills, not create it. Finding their own chakra is as easy as breathing for them."

Edra sucked in a startled breath. But Kakashi pocketed his stone suddenly, eyeing the sky. "We can unseal them later. I need to go. My tou-san will be waiting for me."

Obito paused, then agreed.

Kakashi suddenly went over to crouch in front of her. "Get on." She didn't question him; she _was_ too tired to even walk.

"So, cute," Rin was heard muttering. Kakashi didn't flush, but Edra could see the beginning of a blush at the tips of his ears, but he kept his face impassive.

Obito stared with a thoughtful look on his face as he did so. "Thank you," Edra murmured before slowly climbing Kakashi's back.

She was tired and her muscles _ached._ Obito and Rin waved as Kakashi started walking away, giving them a slight tilt of his head in acknowledgment before turning away.

Edra felt the warmth thrum through her, skin-deep. H _e's so sweet,_ she thought sleepily before she smiled.

* * *

The game was over.

Edra couldn't help but close her eyes.

Breathing deeply, she murmurs, "Wake me when we get there, okay, Kaka-chan?" Before promptly knocking out, ignoring his spluttering.

* * *

 **A/N: Shit, was this long. I was going to break it up again but decided against it. Also, can you guys tell I'm horrible at action scenes? And group conversations? Ugh, like so many characters in one place.**

 **If anyone has questions or confused with how the game ended, please let me know. I can't catch all my mistakes lmao**

 **Review, please!**

 **Mentions:**

 **Fluffpenguin: Thank you for the review. When you said, 'it's surprising that mc is acting like a kid' is that a good surprise or bad surprise? Lol. And yeah, you lose if you don't have your partner with you.**

 **Riverrr: thank you for the review! And ugh I'm glad they aren't OOC in your opinion.**

 **Iluvfairytale: lmao it has happened to me, so yeah true, but I hope they redeemed themselves a little in your eyes in this chapter?**

 **P.s.: We're finally going to meet Sakumo! He is tagged on the character's list for a reason lol So, yay for that.**


	6. Chapter 6: A White Poppy Flower

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **Naruto,**_ **just my OC(s).**

 **A/N thank you for the favs/follow ++ reviews.**

* * *

The forest comes alive beneath her frantic, pounding feet.

In her dreams, it is as unforgiving as a warring sea caught in a violent storm as she's pulled into a swift darkness.

Cold, persistent wind bites her cheeks, sending goosebumps alongside her arms, pulling shivers from her at every turn; the flash of trees whip past as she flies. Streaks of dirt marred skin leave a razor-sharp sting against her as she brushes past broken low branches.

Her hair, as inky black as what surrounds her, sticks to her fear-stricken, sweaty cheeks and neck, and she is unable to stop the ragged breaths and the panic-struck gasps from escaping as she fled deeper into the woods.

The sounds of a thousand-laughter follow.

Blood thundering inside her veins, Edra could feel every scrap and bruise mottling her skin; pain radiates in every excruciating sprint towards _anything_ that wasn't the dark, indomitable blackness that was slowly eating away at the trees and skies behind her.

 _Run,_ came the only frantic thought in her head. _Run, run, run!_

And her eyes, _blue like her mother's_ bleed straight black.

In her dreams, _Alina_ springs to life, and the darkness vanishes. In its wake, _her_ silhouette springs free from its shadow, then: thin body, warm, brown skin, darkened blue eyes, straight black hair, but it's missing the true-life sallowness, the heavy purple bags beneath red-shot eyes, the too-thin fingers tracing the ghost-scars alongside her arms.

It looked like her, but it wasn't _her_.

 _Alina,_ her mind screams, _Alina, no!_

When the girl corners her, sending roots to snake along her legs, Edra stumbles and nearly falls but is held suspended half-way.

She could only breath out a shaky, "You're dead," before she's struck mute by Alina's quiet, _hollow_ laughter, feeling the things wrap tighter around her.

"'fraid so," the dead girl sings, her voice an echo of a sister long gone. "But I'm alive in your dreams. And you can't run from me."

Her mind screams at her to run.

She _can't_.

Edra's glued to the spot, grounded by spikes of pain and hurt and memories -

She can feel the heaviness weigh her down as she could do nothing but stare at the half-ghosted, dead girl in front of her.

"We grew up so alone, do you remember? A family of six, and we were so lonely." Alina's face stayed the same; solemn, pale, and her eyes were unseeing. "I was the good child, the nerd, the success story. And you…you were the one who thought poison tasted better. I'm dead; you got to live again. How is that fair?"

Edra couldn't breathe. "I didn't ask for this life."

"You saved that boy."

"I moved." But her words rang hollow. A sharp, unbridled intake of air and she can't help but say, "I didn't know what I was doing."

Alina laughs—a soft, wistful thing. "Why him? He was one of many—."

"Shut. Up."

W _ake up, wake up._ She doesn't want to hear this. She doesn't want to see the _disappointment—_

Alina ignores her. "You wanted to dream, so you shoved that little boy out of the way and let yourself get hit."

The air turns colder.

" _No_ , I didn't want to die!" Edra cries out. "I moved, I moved."

"And now you're doing the same thing there-shoving yourself in front of something you _know_ will kill you again." Anger marred her pretty, blue eyes as she stared down at her. "I am here to remind you of what you're fighting for."

Edra slips free from the gnarled roots encasing her legs, panting. "You can't-,"

The ground beneath her breaks as her sister – _no, that isn't Alina—_ screams, "You left me! You have no say in what I can and cannot do!"

Edra cried out, pain explodes behind her eyes as she was smacked against a tree. The air is knocked out of her— _she can't see, she can't—_

" _Alina_ ," she gasps, nails scrape against the sudden arm holding her in place, hand closed around her throat in a painful hold, _choking_ —

" _Mi hermana mas joven de luz y veneno._ My younger sister of light and poison. You have stolen my life and _poisoned it outright_. I am dead because of you!"

She screams, just as Alina crushes her throat.

* * *

Edra doesn't wake, as one would have when experiencing a nightmare, but she does become aware.

Her body refuses to unlock itself from its paralyzed position, and she lets her mind wander as she took in the sight of small cracks in her ceiling, the low light flittering through curtains, the sounds of opening and closing squeaks coming from her closet.

 _Here is safe_ , she thinks slowly, _here there are no dangers inside my head_.

She breathes, in and out. Calm, steady. Cold brushes against her, soothes her flushed cheeks; minute by minute, the hands that held her down slowly fall away from her chest, the fading blackness fades from her line of sight.

Hours passed, Edra jerks awake.

She remembered her mother tucking her in the bed, after a gentle bath, her words soft as she fussed over a bruised and achy little girl; even after failing to recall half of what her mother had been saying, Edra could still hear her voice, garbled words, wash over her like a sweet little lullaby as she drifted into sleep.

Nightmares begin as expected. Every night, when she doesn't brace herself against them, she'd be submerged, and the struggle to pull away will only shove her in deeper.

She was prepared for it, having thought that it will not deviate from her death, but it did. And it hurts. Because Edra doesn't why _she_ appeared so suddenly and so devastatingly _so_ that, even awake, she could still hear her sister's voice hauntingly echoing the same words over and over again: _I am dead because of you!_

Alina died long before she did. Their life in another world had been a happy one, if a bit overwhelming.

She doesn't know why her head filled her with a sister that hated her guts. Edra and Alina had been on good terms before the latter's death. And as far as she could remember, Alina was wrong. Wasn't…she?

Edra inhales deeply. No more, she thinks, it's time to get up anyway.

The bakery ran as usual on the weekdays.

Dawn would start with the heady scent of bread of all kinds, sweets made from chocolate, vanilla, baking in the ovens and would mix in the air of the kitchen, then as her mother opened doors and windows, would waft through the bakery, sinking into every cracks and crevice.

It drew in people this way.

But today was a bitter one as Edra watched her mother fussed throughout the kitchen almost half an hour later, the occasional glances would be thrown her way but then the little girl would be forgotten soon after.

Her mother's shoulders were rigid, her brows furrowed as the lines of worry and grief pulled at her face; she kept her hands busy, spreading out folds of bread dough, piping frosting into her little bags, slicing and dicing fruits—it was all done with a look of determination, but her mother still held that air of a grieving mother.

With a glance at the calendar, Edra saw the red circle and knew that today was _Souta's_ birthday.

It was no wonder her mother had been so patient with the little girl, giving in when the girl had asked if she could play at one of the big parks of the village; it was all leading up to this day, a day where her mother would work herself too hard – day that should have been a day of celebration.

Instead, she watches her mother burdened herself with the thoughts of a dead son.

Edra could understand.

She doesn't have memories of her older brother, but she did have his photo; she knew what he looked like, what his face looked when he was smiling or grinning; he had their mother's face, even if his hair didn't match theirs.

Edra sighs to herself takes a quick look at the melting ice cream in her hands before tossing it in the bin.

"I'm going out, kaa-san," Edra tells her mother, but she receives no indication that she had been heard as she makes her way out of the kitchen.

 _I'm five_ , Edra grumbles silently, _I shouldn't even be allowed outside at this hour._

The door itself is the type that slides instead of opening, so when Edra leaves, her mother's voice drifts from the back, "Don't go far. If you can, ask Kohari if she could open for me today."

Edra tosses a soft, "Okay, Kaa-san," behind her before she swiftly makes her way from the backroom.

The main room of the bakery was an open space with low-beamed ceilings, polished floors; when she passes the counter that stopped anyone from going into the backroom, she noticed that there were rows of display cases alongside it with desserts, fresh from the oven going by the slight steam.

There were no tables, of course, given how much room the display cases take up, but it wasn't small that it couldn't fit a lot of people.

Edra could see the other shops begin opening their stores; Yamanaka Hanayo –Inoichi-san's mother –was hovering outside as she arranged the shelves of flowers, while Inami—who looked tired but dressed for school—dutifully helped her.

It was a slow morning with few people wandering this side of the district.

The muscles in her legs ached, but it wasn't an issue while walking. It only strained when she sat, and she wasn't going to do that right now, so she was fine at the moment.

"Morning, Inami-chan, Hanayo-san" Edra greets as soon as she was out the doors, drawing the attention of the two.

"Inori-chan, morning!" Inami replied in kind, features lighting up as she beams.

"Good morning, little one," the woman, Hanayo said warmly, pausing in her actions as concern suddenly pulls at her expression. "Is your mother alright?"

Edra nods slowly. "She's okay. Baking. I have to go find Kohari-san so that she could open for us today."

"Will you stay here a moment? I have something for your mother." At Edra's nod, the woman patted Inami's head and heads inside the shop.

Edra turns to Inami. "Are you going to the academy today?"

"Yup. I'm meeting up with Seiko and Chieko. Knowing Seiko-kun, he's probably still asleep," Inami adds glumly, as she glared at no one. Then, remembering something, she says, "I haven't seen you since Saturday. Are you okay?"

 _No_. "I've been sleeping in," Edra said with a grin.

Inami huffs, "Well can you tell that to your friends? Ugh, that idiot wouldn't stop bugging me!"

"Who?"

"That Uchiha, of course," Inami seethes. "He and that Nohara girl wanted to know where they can find you, but I didn't tell them anything."

Edra couldn't help but purse her lips. "I don't know why they would bother." It isn't like she didn't _want_ to be friends with them, it's just…it was only a one time thing, right? No repeats.

She was planning on getting rid of the stone the moment an opportunity presented itself, but she hadn't had the chance.

The best thing she could do was to just ignore it.

"Seiko-kun says it's because of what his cousin gave you guys," Inami crosses her arms in exasperation, "And she's been trying to get the four of you together but didn't want to put in the effort to do it. And then Hatake wouldn't stop taunting Uchiha about you, and I just—ugh!"

Edra blinked at her, vaguely amused as she watched Inami stomps in place. "I'm sorry about that."

" _Why_ do they need you?" It wasn't a question meant to be taken meanly, it was just a genuine confusion on her part because Inami didn't realize they needed to be together so that they can activate the stones.

The girl shrugs, "No idea."

"I'm going to tell them you don't—"

"Just send them to the bakery," Edra cuts in, hoping to calm Inami down. "I'll deal with them."

Before Inami could say anything, Hanayo reappears.

In her hand, she held a single white flower, cut fresh, the girl realized as the woman held it out for her to take. "Can you give this to your mother, little one?"

"Thank you," Edra nods and takes it.

Inami blinked before saying slowly, "It's…that's a white poppy."

"What does it stand for?" Edra wants to know.

"It's the symbol of _remembrance_ ," Inami mutters as the older woman smiles sadly at her.

Hanayo adds gently, "I want your mom to know she's not alone, Inori-chan, that I am here for her if she ever needs to talk."

Edra blinks up at her and gives a small smile before thanking her once more.

Satisfied and looking a bit relieved, Hanayo sends Inami off with one last, "be good, and don't let me hear about you getting in trouble, young lady!" before heading back inside the shop.

"She's so embarrassing," Inami grumbles as she snakes her arm around Edra, pulling the girl with her as she started walking. "Come on! Let's go see if Seiko and Chieko are waiting for me at the gates of the academy!"

"And if they aren't?"

"I'm going to start crying," Inami replied cheerfully as she grinned. "That'll make them feel guilty for sure!"

Edra snorts. "And if they are there, then it's all good," the girl continued.

They made their way to the academy. The sun shines brightly down at them, the sweet air warm and crisp as the morning consumes their walk.

She looks up, sees a lone bird circling above and wonders: _what exactly am I fighting for?_

Edra doesn't know. And that scares her.

* * *

 _ **Several days before**_

* * *

Hatake Sakumo was a tall man with the same silver hair that mirrored his young and only son, but the aging lines, the crease, and folds, the years' worth of life flashing behind his dark eyes only told her this: he has seen the darker side of the moon and won.

She climbs down from Kakashi's back, a fluid motion that belies her exhaustion as she introduces herself, all wide smiles and sparkling eyes. "Higashi Inori," Edra chirps, pointing at herself, as she beamed up at him, long hair falling over her shoulder as she bowed eagerly.

"Kakashi's little friend?" Sakumo had asked, after returning the smile and had introduced himself, glancing between them wild mild surprise flashing behind his eyes.

Kakashi glanced towards her and gave his father a slow nod, but he was unsure, as he –in her opinion –had no real idea. "He was real nice, Hatake-san! Kaka-chan," Here, Sakumo coughed, choking back his chuckle at the subtle twitch of his son's eyebrow he gave from hearing the nickname, "carried me all the way from the forest."

"Is that so?"

"She was going to fall," Kakashi muttered, shooting her a dubious glance as he eyed her suspiciously; she hadn't so much as swayed on the spot, which made him wonder how exactly she had this much energy to stand, let alone muster up an excitable demeanor.

Sakumo raised a brow in question. "I wanted to meet you," Edra said in her 'little girl' voice, shyly giving him a nervous smile. "You have such pretty hair!" At that, her hand shot out to pat Kakashi's silvery locks, whose eyes widened in shock before she withdrew seconds later and turned back to Sakumo as if she had proved it by doing that.

It worked, the man laughed and shook his head a little, but his expression lit up as she had expected; she had seen his deep-seated tiredness, a wariness she could understand.

It both worried her and made her regret so many of her own choices, but at least he was smiling now, it even reached his eyes.

She had seen him across the courtyard, downtrodden and sullen as if the world was pressing against him in all directions, trapping; she was saddened that Sakumo looked as if didn't know if he could ever climb out of whatever depression had sunk its claw in him.

But it had receded, the look, when he saw his son and a little girl on his back, but not enough for her to miss it as they had been their way to him.

Edra could relate. She didn't know if she wanted to meet him, but it wasn't a bad thing that she did.

She wonders when he'll have that mission, when he'll save his own teammates rather than finish it, sinking the world into another war.

His son was still in the academy, so it was only a matter of time before it happened.

Edra wonders only for a moment. She is still very much afraid, no matter if it seems like she wasn't.

"Tou-san," Kakashi begins, drawing his father's attention, "Nara Shiho gave us this," He takes out the stone and hands it over to his father, who takes it with a curious frown on his face. "Is it true Minato-nii-san help make it?"

Edra stifled her surprise at the way he addressed the future Lord Fourth. Were they that close already? "I wasn't privy to the meeting that took place concerning this, but I did know Shiho-san was going pick people for a trial run. I have only just been told by Minato that Shiho and her father were doing this as a game and were picking children instead of adults."

"Is it really a good idea to give them to us?" Edra couldn't but ask.

"Most are too busy to offer their assistance. Besides," Sakumo replied, already knowing she won a stone, "she seems to think you two have the best chance to see if it could be used in our own forces."

Kakashi blinks up at him. "Four," he corrects softly. "Nohara Rin and Uchiha Obito have a stone as well."

"Four," Sakumo repeated, and this time, he didn't stop his eyebrows from climbing up in surprise.

Edra bit the inside of her cheek. "Why couldn't the others help?" She couldn't help but be stuck at that; why were _children_ being used for this, it was sort of uncomfortable.

"Are you four, perhaps, the top students at the academy?"

"Obito is the _dead-last_ , tou-san," Kakashi squawks, unable to believe his father would think he was in any shape or form equal to that _kid_. Then, inclining his head to her, he continues, "Rin's okay, but she's— Inori-san doesn't even go there."

"I'm civilian," Edra adds hopefully, not missing the way Sakumo frowned minuscule as Kakashi narrowed his eyes at no one, hand snaking out to grab back the stone from his father's palm.

Sakumo stared at them. "I…have no-,"

" _Are those bruises?_ " Her mother's voice interrupted, drawing the attention of the three as Edra tensed when she heard the anger in her mother's tone.

She almost missed it.

Edra saw the tiniest tensing of Sakumo's shoulders, the sudden tightening of face muscles as his expression pales just slightly. His body is suddenly turned to her mother's direction, and Edra could no longer see his face.

Her mother glances at Sakumo, eyes widening just barely, before her face blanks as fury flashes for just a moment behind her eyes before disappearing.

Edra opens her arms just as her mother sweeps the little girl into her arms. "Hello, kaa-san," Edra muttered, aware of the twin stares coming from father and son.

"Shiori," Sakumo whispered.

"Hatake."

Edra saw Kakashi glanced between them, confusion and concern filling his eyes as he tilted his head in questioning. "It's…been a while," Sakumo continued, then he cleared his throat, the trembling went from his voice from when he had first said her mother's name.

"Not long enough it seems," came her mother's curt response.

Sakumo flinches, but it doesn't deter him from asking, "Is she yours? I didn't know…," he pauses, struggles for the right words before settling with, "She has your eyes, Shiori. And she looks so much like—,"

"Is this your son?" Her mother cuts him off, glancing towards the small boy with a warmer expression than what she had given Sakumo. "Hello, little one."

Kakashi returns the greeting as he fidgets, eying Edra with something akin to bafflement as she gaped openly at her mother.

"My precious son Kakashi," Sakumo spoke with pride, eyes shining as he patted the little boy's head, who leaned into the touch. "He is so smart, my boy. Reminds me of his mother sometimes."

"She was a good woman, god rest her soul."

Sakumo nodded, unable to speak.

Edra doesn't understand.

She could only stare, frozen in her mother's arm as the questions whirl inside her head. "You should tend to his exhaustion," her mother advises Sakumo softly with a motherly concern in her voice. "He should not have overworked himself. Chakra exhaustion is a serious thing, Hatake."

Edra inhaled a sharp breath, eyes widening as she looked at Kakashi in shock. Said little boy eyes go wide as he heard the soft reprimand. _But—how—he—I could still feel his chakra-?_

Sakumo swivels to stare at his son sharply. " _Kakashi_ , why didn't you tell me-," He starts fussing over him, concern pulled at his expression before he scoops up the little boy, murmuring words in his ear as he urged him to fall asleep before he could faint, all the while Kakashi looked ready to _murder_ someone going by the slight tightening of his eyes.

Edra reached out before her mother could stop her.

She bops Kakashi sweetly on the nose, careful to whisper, "See you soon, Kaka-chan," as she withdrew her hand. She had enough time to see his face flush cutely as he palmed at his nose with both hands before her mother blocks her view, turning away.

"We're leaving now," said her mother in a flat tone, adjusting her hold on Edra before walking away.

Her mother ignores Sakumo's call of her name.

Edra listens to the rapid beat of her mother's heart as she presses her ear into her mother's neck, warm with the scent of safety mix and with her mother's words, it lures her to a near sleep against her mother's chest.

She did not miss the next words.

When her mother murmured them, Edra sucked in a startled breath that should have alerted her mother, but didn't, and only made her echoed them in her head, frantically trying to _understand_.

"Don't go near that man, Inori-chan," her mother whispers softly as she pressed her lips against the little girl's hair. "He is the reason why you have no older brother."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm going to take a little break from this story for like a while. I didn't lose inspiration or w.e, I'm just being lazy lmao**

 **I** _ **have**_ **outlined the next few chapters, but I haven't written them yet so…. rest assure I'm still working on it. I just want to take a break lmao**

 **Anyway, please review!**


	7. Chapter 7: Too Much Noise

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **Naruto,**_ **just my OC(s).**

 **A/N: anyone mind if I change my username? I will. Fair warning.**

 **Also, thanks for the favs/follows + reviews. It always makes my day.**

* * *

The sky was too blue, the air too cold –even the wind failed to catch heat as she sat on a thick branch, trying to evade the suspicions little cat that had trailed after her in a hungry search for companionship.

(Or maybe the cat was just hungry and no one was feeding it enough and thought _hey, I should go bother that short little girl who loves me!_ And then did just that) _._

She had caught the cat sulking, and then when it had spotted her, it quickly followed.

Edra had left Inami half an hour ago back at the academy when all of this went down.

* * *

"You'll wait for us at the park -the one near your house - right?"

"What, why?" _No, let me sleep._

"What do mean ' _why'._ " Inami rolled her eyes in exasperation as she scolded Edra, looking crossed as she huffed. "Don't act like you've forgotten, Inori-chan! Anyway," she adds, calming down when Edra rubbed her hands together, looking contrite, "I told Chieko-kun and Seiko-kun, so you can't get out of this so easily, missy!"

 _No, I haven't forgotten,_ Edra thinks bitterly, _I just don't like thinking about it._ She also wonders what Inami had told the boys about today. Hopefully, nothing too big.

Today was solely meant for her brother. Inami knew this, too, but she didn't forget the _other_ occasion. Edra just hopes it won't be drawn-out, like last time.

So, she sighed and agreed nonetheless at Inami's request. Five minutes, they waved goodbye to each other as the bell rang.

Inami, the poor girl, then raced across the courtyard, shoving into a couple of students - who screeched at her but did nothing - and sprinted inside the building.

Edra ran before she could be mistaken for a student and forced inside.

* * *

And after running back to wedge the white flower into the locked doors of the bakery, she had decided, then and there, that it was best to figure out how to find her own chakra.

 _Why though?_ A part of her asked. _To learn how to_ not _constantly feel the presence of others,_ she answered.

 _And,_ she tacked on silently to herself, _so that she can find an excuse to meet up with Kakashi and ask what the hell was up with his dad._ He -Kakashi- probably doesn't know, given the boy's own confusion when he heard the exchange between their parents, but still, Sakumo looked like the kind of person to explain things, if only to stop further lines of questioning.

She doesn't know.

Her mother's words, in retrospect, was kind of extreme. And it ate at her. Edra wants to know _why_. Honestly, her mother was too dramatic for her own good sometimes. She also wanted to know about her own chakra, which admittedly wasn't something she was too keen on learning about but she knew it needed to be done.

Edra has felt everyone else's, as annoying as it was, and had realized how much it would overwhelm when too many people were felt.

That's when the cat –with the odd eyes –began trotting after her, meowing ridiculously too loud at this time of day. It would have been cute, had it not begin trying to get her to follow it back to the Uchiha compound just moments before.

 _How_ did she know this? Edra had quickly noticed it waiting for her, curling tail swishing back and forth until she had given in and approached it. The cat had leaned away when she did so, mewing softly before it jumped down from where it had been sitting on the empty boxes, and trotted away. The cat had then stopped half-way and turned back, walking directly up to her until leaving once more.

It repeated the action until Edra, who was confused, suddenly realized the cat wanted her to follow.

She did, of course, for all of the two seconds before realizing she was being led towards the one place her mother had explicitly told her not to go after the incident.

"No," she had stated sternly at the cat, who looked at her with a bored expression, its whiskers twitching, "I'll get in trouble. I don't know about you, but I'm not looking forward to getting dragged back home by one of your owners. It'll stress me out and make my kaa-san _mad_."

And after putting on a rather forceful and disapproving frown, she made a motion to leave, before the cat, unexpectedly, began mewling loudly, gathering the attention of passersby. And that of a lone Uchiha, who bore the symbol of the police corps on their shoulders, and who she hadn't noticed had been patrolling the area until he came into view.

Feeling completely god-smacked and nearly ready to hyperventilate, Edra could do nothing but duck behind the legs of several civilians as the Uchiha recognized the howl—his expression immediately alarmed—and having made his way over to the little cat just before she high-tailed it out of there—saw his face and instantly recognized him.

 _Oh no, it's him, the one who dragged me home that one time,_ was her only thought before she disappeared into the throng of crowds, cheeks burning as she remembered the embarrassing moment. _I swear I'm never going to forget that._

It took her a while to double-back before she realized the same cat was following her again, this time without the dramatics, and without the Uchiha.

She could only do one thing: climb a tree. It was the most impulsive thing she had ever done.

(It kind of hurt, to climb. The deep, aching twinge of her muscles protested—vehemently—against straining them further, but she couldn't help but do it _anyway_ and just ignore the pain).

Edra was right, of course, but the cat looked betrayed at her action. _As if it had any right_ _to_ , she thought sourly, eying the cat who circled below before the cat suddenly darted off as if she personally offended the thing.

"Good riddance," she muttered after watching the cat disappear.

Edra waited.

And then, when it looked that the cat wasn't coming back, she descended from the tree, ears, and eyes peeled for any sign of the feline before exhaling in relief.

She left the area, traveled all the way towards the market district but didn't get far when she noticed Nonō, the older girl from the orphanage, trailing after a woman dressed as a nurse. They look like they were chatting, but she's not sure as she slowed her pace to match theirs.

Edra could only see their side profiles, the occasional person blocking their faces as they moved. They were heading towards the hospital from the looks of it as Edra followed some little ways behind, a hint of curiosity in her expression as she eyed the girl speculatively.

Nonō looked… _tired_ , she wants to say out loud but doesn't.

Edra could see flashes of exhaustion peeking from Nonō's movements, the stiff way she would move her shoulders, the back and forth jerky rotation of her neck as she struggled to blink the sleepiness out of her eyes, even the heavy dark bags under her eyes only made Edra conclude that girl was probably back from a mission that went on too long for her to have a proper nap.

She was also dressed in a chuunin vest, which made Edra guess that the older girl had been promoted sometime during the week she had been gone from the village. _Field promotion? Maybe._ The only reason she even knew Nonō had been gone was because the girl hadn't stopped by the bakery for, like, days now.

( _Nonō would even greet her at the bakery, stopping to chat with Edra's mother before heading towards the hospital to start her shift, the only time the pattern would be broken if: she was on a mission or training with her team, or at the orphanage)._

Edra bit the inside of her cheek, expression blanking as a nagging feeling surged from the back of her mind as she remembered the promise. On one hand, it's easy to forget the promise she had made to Nonō, given that she didn't know how to even get in contact with Danzo, but on the other hand, it wouldn't be very nice of her if she did that.

Nonō was determined to bring more funding to the orphanage, and Edra wasn't going to stop her from doing that, not even if she's uncomfortable with the idea of having a conversation with that…man.

 _I could ask Kaa-san if I could meet him,_ she thinks warily, _but she's not much help at the moment. She's going to be completely out of it until the week is over._ It always happened. On his birthday, every year, her mother would pretend everything was fine before spiraling into a depressive state the rest of the week; it's been that way since Edra first recalled her memories from another life almost two years ago.

It always started with ignoring the _other_ nearly critical special occasion that also happens to fall on this day, then stress-eating, then moments of angry outbursts, a day where her mother would go visit the cemetery, then a long silence before remembering that it _had been her daughter's birthday too, and she forgot._ Again.

Edra shook her head suddenly, coming back to the present. _I have to also think of an excuse as to_ why _I even want to meet him. Kaa-san's not going to take '_ because I want to' _as a good enough reason to. She's not stupid._

When the older girl and nurse disappeared inside the hospital, through the double glass doors of the entrance, Edra hesitated a split second before turning away.

Time go back to her original purpose: how to locate her chakra and stop feeling everyone else's.

They were so _loud_. It was getting harder to withstand so many people in one place. Edra didn't want to know what will happen if she ever met a certain, loud-mouthed (well, she could only guess) red-head with a tailed beast trapped inside them.

 _I could fucking die_ (probably) just _by being near her with that amount of chakra she has_ , she thought with a hint of hysteria at the edge of her mind. _And_ , she concluded fiercely as she weaved through the crowds, _it'll probably friggin' hurt. Probably better if I_ didn't _run into her._

She could only sigh wistfully as she left.

* * *

She didn't get far with trying to find her own chakra. It was stubborn. And, inside her, nearly non-existence.

Edra hadn't felt this frustrated with herself since she first realized she was a toddler as she stared down at her hands, glaring heatedly with an unamused expression on her face.

 _You're pouting,_ the voice at the back of her head taunted, reminding her exactly _why_ she hates being so small.

She had gone to a nearby park, one that was much smaller and less prone to attract the attention of Clan kids, and sat near the base of the thick tree before closing her eyes and, without luck, _tried_ to find her 'core', or whatever.

Meditating s _ucked._ There was too much stimulation from the outside to get anything done.

Edra had gone all around to find a spot where hardly anyone ventures to. She ignored the parents and children running around nearby, knowing full well she was sat beyond where the stone benches marked the edges of the park. It was by a very small pond, one with an ornate shrine planted in the middle as koi fish swam around, the sounds of running water and chirping birds as loud as the irritating noises she would make when she couldn't go beyond feeling her heart and blood beating steadily inside her veins.

Ten minutes later, she all but gave up. _Nothing._ She felt _nothing._

Without missing a beat, she promptly slammed her palm on the grassy ground, a bit of frustration leaking behind her eyes as she let out a long-suffering sigh.

She winced when she felt her palm stinging, a burst of pinching pain.

It traveled up her arm until she couldn't help but groan a little at the intensity of it. It reminded her of the time when she fell from a tree, the static vibrations blanking out every sound but her breathing before it stopped just as abruptly as before.

Edra scowled. But she didn't stop trying.

* * *

She was a bit odd, that girl.

Kagami hadn't realized that his decades-old friend had another grandchild until he turns on his Sharingan eye after seeing a familiar looking girl run away from t _hat damn cat who keeps leaving his son_ and nearly fell from the roof at what he saw beneath her steps: the tiny network of chakra roots flaring beneath her feet; the strings, subtle, almost nonexistent even to his Sharingan eye, stretching _below_ the ground and spanning out haphazardly until they were nothing but little pathways that seem to light up whenever a child or parent or anyone really stepped on them.

Though it looked as if she wasn't aware of what she was doing, nor looked as if she could sense more than a few instead of everyone in the vicinity.

Kagami realizes why it looked familiar. _He's seen it before._

 _How advanced is her ability to sense chakra? Or is it unconsciously done? It is no wonder the girl looks tired,_ he concludes after a few minutes of watching.

It had been one of Danzo's specialty, back then but more effective than that of the Hokage's, but the gift had been twisted beyond its usefulness, and it had _not_ been passed down to his daughter.

Kagami had checked, even went as far as to use his Sharingan eye in order to find out if her own mother could do the same.

( _The mother had her chakra suppressed, almost to the point of uselessness. She showed no signs of discomfort, nor any distress, something that surprised him when he turned off his eye_ ). She could have possessed it at some point, but he wasn't sure.

It had only been confirmed to him when he went to see Danzo, his old friend, who was currently relaxing after what appears to have been a long and drawn-out meeting between his two other council members and going by a number of papers he had on his desk and the peevish look crossing his face.

Kagami hesitated only for a moment before making his presence known. Then, when acknowledge by the slight tilt of Danzo's head, inquired if the little girl, (who looked very much like the boy who died a long time ago and who he had been observing) was his granddaughter?

He hadn't expected Danzo to freely answer him, which made him pause briefly in slight surprise.

"I've known for a while," Danzo had also stated, his voice dragging the words in a long drawl, reminiscence of a man suffering from the effects of too much smoking. "My daughter thinks I do not know; I have allowed her to keep the girl from me."

"To whose advantage?"

Danzo gave him a calculating look, but answered,"She still blames me for many things, old friend, including the death of her son, Shimura Souta, a chuunin by the time he was ten. I had approved the mission that ended with his death."

"He was Hatake's student," Kagami recalls with a frown tugging at his mouth as a thoughtful look flashed across his face. "He died on that mission through no fault of his own, or the Hatake's."

"She is blinded by grief," Danzo replies plainly.

 _Yes,_ Kagami thinks, grief does have a tendency to color one's action but to _keep_ her daughter from Danzo, to go so far as to not tell him she exists? That is beyond grief.

"She has your ability," Kagami informs him; he sees Danzo display a variety of emotions until he looked as if he didn't care. "I take it, it isn't a big deal?" He asks in a baffled voice, gaping.

 _This could mean that in the future, it might develop into a bloodline. The ability is as similar as Lord Second's, who could find anyone anywhere just by placing his finger on the ground, and she could do it naturally! Does he not realize this?_ Kagami thought frantically, unused to seeing his old friend dismiss this enormous possibility.

"If left untrained," Danzo said in flat, unconcerned voice after a moment of silence, "then no, it isn't. It will disappear over time; the ability would become less potent as time goes on. I have been informed that she will not become a ninja." Here, his lips curled in a near-sneer, but Kagami paid no attention as he thought: _by whom?_

The man adds stiffly, "if she begins to train, however, then she will become my problem."

 _Problem?_ Kagami isn't sure what the other man means. "When did you suspect her origins, Kagami?" Danzo tone went colder, harsh when he asked this, staring down at Kagami as all traces of familiarity left his expression.

"The cat," was his immediate response. Hesitating, he adds slowly, "He is my son's familiar. It had been following the girl all day, repeatedly chanting ' _two lives, two lives_ '. It made a scene near the residential district, drawing the attention of one of my relatives before she fled. She…looked very much like Souta."

 _Two lives,_ Kagami repeats to himself, wondering if there was more to the girl than he had first originally thought before shaking his head inwardly."I activated my Sharingan eye after I suspected her connection with your grandson and saw strings of a chakra network growing beneath her feet as she ran. I recognized it," he continued softly, then grimaced as remembered another thing, but he bit his tongue.

He didn't even entertain the thought.

Danzo sighed tiredly. "If you see her, do nothing to attract her attention. Her mother is well aware of the cat's presence and that it isn't a normal one. Shiori may very well be a civilian, but she is not _untrained._ I only warn you because my daughter distrusts the Uchihas as much as she abhors Hatake's existence, and _will_ attack with prejudice if she suspects any contact with her daughter."

 _Why?_ Kagami and his clansmen were the police force, the ones who monitor their fellow shinobi from breaking the law within the village. They also dealt with civilians. He cannot understand why anyone would distrust the Uchihas when all they were providing was _protection_. But he bit his tongue, knowing it probably wasn't smart to pry.

Danzo sets down his hands from when he had placed them under his chin on his desk as he eyed the other man warily, and adds, "Best to keep this to yourself, Kagami, lest Hiruzen catches wind of another with this gift. He'll try any means to get that girl into the academy." _Under his authority, he could control her_ went unsaid but heard all the same.

Something akin to bitterness crossed his face before it was swallowed down. "My daughter will only blame me if that happens," admitted Danzo sourly, lips thinning, before he glanced down at his papers, evidently done with the conversation.

Kagami could only nod before he bids the man farewell, recognizing the dismissal easily as he shushined away.

It had taken him a long time to earn the trust of his friend. He was not about to throw it away, not when Danzo was an avid supporter of Kagami's Clan, refusing to hear any slight towards them—he would even go as far as to favor the Uchihas in any debate between the council and Hokage.

It was…reassuring to know that.

So, he wasn't going risk doing anything that would bring attention to the girl.

But the girl was odd, in his opinion.

Kagami is unsure whether or not the girl realizes the significance of capturing the attention of a familiar, especially one already bonded with another. Or if she knows that she had also captured the attention of Nekobaa as well, who never cares for outsiders. _He_ himself wonders if it is a good thing she is being kept away. Maybe nothing will come out of it?

Time will tell, perhaps, as Kagami returned to his people-watching duty up on top of the police corps building down near the Hokage's residence. A _fter all_ , he thinks with a hint of bitterness, _it's the only thing Fugaku-sama would allow me to do after the incident with that damned civilian woman._ An incident, he thinks furiously, incited through no fault of his own as he activated his Sharingan eye.

He was in for a long day. He sighs tiredly before getting to work.

* * *

 **A/N: review, please.**

 **P.s., writing is hard, especially when you're sleep deprived, and when you can't seem to focus. I am so lazy lmao.**

 **R & R please!**

 **Edit (April 19, 2017): I'm sorry for taking so long for the next chapter, I'm a little busy with life. Sorry, sorry.**


	8. Chapter 8: AN

**A/N:**

Hey, everyone. I am so sorry I haven't updated this story in a while. I have an excuse!

I stopped loving Naruto. And I didn't want to continue writing this story because of that. I thought it would reflect if I kept doing it, and I didn't want to do that to you guys.

Thank you everyone for the reviews and the favorites and everything! It made my day knowing someone liked what I wrote.

And I'm so sorry I haven't updated it in, what, a year? I have the outline and the drafts of the next chapter, but I won't be uploading it.

The draft chapter I mean. Ha.

Buuuuut. I still have the outline, and I am no longer on this fanfic site.

Ii will, however rewrite this story


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